Lion King: Into the Pride
by Kurt Wylde 42
Summary: When Danny Manning loses his family and searches for them,he gets sent crashing into a region known as the Pride Lands. There,he learns a new definition of family,and confronts the evils that threaten to destroy them.Takes place right before the Lion King
1. The Outsider

Chapter 1-The Outsider

In the heart of Africa was a land of peace and paradise. Lush green lands and flowing rivers and streams decorated the region. Save for a volcanic geyser crevice, the area was surreal. The name of the region was the Pride Lands. Animals were scattered all over the lands, numerous in variety. From the antelope to the wildebeest to the cheetah, there were many species living in the land. In the center of the land was a tall rock with a long, sloping rock jutting out on an incline supported by a rock standing straight up. The name of this rock was Pride Rock, the home of the lions and the king.

It was a time of peace among the animals and other distant lion prides. What they didn't realize was that the coming of something completely new to them would be the start of a brand new adventure, and a downward spiral of fortune…

* * *

A ship flew through the upper atmosphere of earth and into space. It was a custom air freighter capable of space flight. It was a disc-shaped ship with two tips jutting out in the front like two spearheads. In between those tips was the cockpit, with the pilot manning the controls. His name was Danny Manning, an eighteen-year old boy. He was not very tall, but his shoulders were unusually broad, making him stocky in build. He kept his hair cut in a fade, almost a military high-and-tight. Still showing some baby fat, his face was not a sharply cut one, but his golden brown eyes more than made up for that facial disadvantage.

The ship was given to him as a gift from his father. His father, Dennis Manning was the executive director and chairman of Research and Development for air- and spacecraft. Because of the last two years of work, he was not able to see Danny very much. To make up for that, he sent his people to work to develop a ship capable of spaceflight. The _Axalon_-class ship, dubbed the _**Paratus Preliator**_, was a prototype, the only one of its kind. Dennis presented it to his son for his seventeenth birthday. Danny was overjoyed and began training for the ship at a private flight school.

Unfortunately, tragedy struck Danny a week before his eighteenth birthday. His father, mother and two sisters went on a safari trip in Africa and were found dead from a boating accident. Danny, heartbroken from the loss, began to withdraw from the world. His few friends that he had he remained in contact, albeit an inconsistent contact. Somehow, something told him his family was still alive, and he set out for a course. However, he couldn't avoid detection of traveling across the Atlantic and alerting military factions. So he traveled into space, using the Iron Curtain shield to prevent detection from space.

He flew toward an eastward area of space. The computer system gave him a warning. "This sector has been declared forbidden by the order of NATO Command."

"Slag the NATO Command," Danny replied. He was not bothered by any possibility of reprimand or punishment by them. He smirked. _Besides, they couldn't detect me…not with the Iron Curtain online. _He narrowed his eyes. "Give me a quantum trajectory scan."

"That would contradict program directive nine-three…"

"Just do it," Danny interrupted, with an aggravated tone.

"Acknowledged." There was a moments delay before the computer came back with a response. "Scan positive. Trajectory checkpoint for undetected entry in Continental Africa located."

The boy smiled. "Yes," he said with a pleasing manner. "Lock on and follow."

Instead of acknowledgement, the cockpit's internal alarms went off. "Attention, anomaly detected. Reverse course."

Danny looked up to see a white plasma warp forming in front of him. He tried to cut forward thrusters and tried to pull up. "Come on, come on." The controls were too sluggish; whatever this anomaly was, it contained a gravity well field that prevented him from going anywhere but forward. Suddenly shockwaves and vibrations shook the ship violently. Danny could hear items dropping onto the floor behind him. "Tell me what's going on."

The_** Preliator**_ computer analyzed the situation immediately. "Temporal anomaly vortex…effecting all systems…analyzing now."

Danny new that process was pointless. But that was the least of his worries as his ship entered the anomaly. He looked at his hand and screamed. It was glowing white; soon his whole body began glowing. All systems went berserk as the anomaly closed up, with Danny in it.

* * *

In another part of space, the warp anomaly opened up and spat out the _**Paratus Preliator**_, trashed and on a trajectory course with a planet that bore similar resemblance to Earth. It penetrated the atmosphere of the planet and was on a crash course near the edge of a beautiful region.

Danny strapped himself in and closed the collision barrier over the canopy to prevent smashing the glass from the impact and hitting him. He also lowered the landing gear. The timer was about to hit the five second mark when Danny remembered about the hover-thrust system. He flipped the lever and the ship shook from the thrusters firing up. The move barely saved him from a severely rough landing. The ship's hull slammed into the ground and skidded to an abrupt halt.

Some glass did crack and shot out of its holding. One piece sliced deeply into the human's left shoulder. The pain was agonizing, and he couldn't hold back the scream. He also wasn't strapped in tight enough, as his head slammed against the control console and rebounded.

The ship finally skidded to a halt, but the ship was tilted on it's left side. Danny slowly felt the world spinning around him. He wasn't sure where he was, but he did know one thing: he was in pain. While he reached up with his right hand and loosened up the right trap, his left arm couldn't even move without severe pain. He reached over with his right hand and loosened up the left strap. After pulling the straps off, he leaned back in his chair. "Computer, damage report." Before any response, he shook his head. "On second thought, I don't wanna know."

He got up out of his chair and walked out of the cockpit and towards the exit ramp. Danny's world was spinning all around him and his head felt like a train wreck. His vision was unfocused and every time he tried to focus, his head would begin hurting even more. The boy walked over to the ramp and pulled down the lever with his left hand. He forgot that he hurt his shoulder and fell down as soon as he pulled the lever.

The ramp opened up while he was on it, lying on his stomach. Danny rolled down and smacked his injured shoulder a few times. "OWW!" He screamed. The pain was next to unbearable and he was fighting to get up. Through gritted teeth, Danny said, "Gotta fight it. I gotta stay ahead of this."

As he stood, those motivational thoughts died when he looked up in front of him. Standing before him was an incredibly large and powerful lion flanked by two lionesses. His russet mane covered all around his head and some of his stomach. His figure frightened Danny, but more frightening were the lion's eyes. A mix of piercing gold and red, it caused Danny to shake. _So much for staying alive. _

As darkness started to nibble at the corners of his eyes, Danny dropped to his knees. "Help." He didn't know why he said that to a lion, but his mind was not thinking straight. He dropped to the ground, his thought was realizing he was alone and now a meal for animals. Then darkness claimed him.

* * *

Danny woke up. He didn't open his eyes, but he felt no pain on his shoulder. _What happened? Am I dead?_ He opened his eyes. The kid noticed his shoulder was covered with some strong-smelling goo. _What is this stuff? _Danny also noticed he was in a cave of some sort. It was dark but the sunlight on the other end provided some illumination to the cave.

He tried to get up but a huge hand held him down. "Lie still. You're still hurt. You need to rest and recover." He was surprised the voice was female.

Pain returned to his head and he obeyed. He saw a silhouette sitting next to him but his head hurt so bad he couldn't make out the shape. "What a dream," he said, exhausted.

The female chuckled. "Was it a good one?"

"No, I had a horrible nightmare. I crashed my ship and came stumbling out to come face-to-face with three lions. That's all I can remember."

"Oh, that was very real. My mate came in with you on his back."

Danny nodded. "Yeah, I…what?" His eyes snapped open as he realized what the female said. When he also realized that the giant hand was a paw, his eyesight focused. The silhouette was clear for him to see that it was a lioness. The fact that the lioness was talking made Danny think he was losing his mind. He panicked and knocked the paw off of him. "Get away from me!"

He ran to an area in the cave where there was light coming from a crevice that opened up into a circle of light and backed up into a wall. He had nowhere to go. The sudden movements caused the pain in his shoulder to return. The pain in his head bent him double. The lioness stepped toward him. "Calm down. If you keep moving you can cause further damage to your shoulder." There was definitely concern in her voice.

"Calm down!? You're a talking lion. I have every reason to not be calm." Danny was beside himself. He reached down for his pistol, but realized he wasn't carrying any weapons. He couldn't do anything.

The lioness stepped into the light. Her tan fur shimmered in the light and her ruby eyes were piercing but had a familiarity that Danny couldn't figure out. He noticed she was larger than a typical lioness, indicating that she was pregnant. Her face held a gentleness that seemed to calm Danny down a little bit. "I know you're shocked; I am surprised too. I've always heard about humans but have never seen one up close."

"What's going on in here?" Danny looked to where the deep, male voice was coming from, and gasped. It was the same male lion he saw right before he passed out outside of his ship. The lion was indeed powerful, as his build was incredibly huge for a lion, but nowhere near inclined to fat. He stepped up into the light near Danny. He was only two feet away from the boy. Danny closed his eyes shut, afraid that this lion was going to begin chomping away at his face. Needless to say, Danny was surprised to feel a huge tongue lick his shoulder.

Danny opened his eyes to look into the face of the lion, trying to read his intentions. His expression only showed compassion and kindness. Still a little scared, Danny said, "W-Who are you?"

The lion smiled. "I am Mufasa, king of Pride Rock, this rock here and ruler of the Pride Lands, the lands outside of this cave." The lioness walked up to Mufasa. "And this is my queen and mate, Sarabi."

Sarabi came up to him, but her eyes were locked with Danny's. He responded first. "Nice to meet you both."

"The pleasure's ours," Sarabi replied with a smile.

Mufasa kept his smile, but his tone took on a more authoritative one. "Who are you and why were you at the edge of the Pride Lands?"

Danny let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he was now safe. "My name is Danny Manning, but just call me Danny. As for the second question, it's kind of a long story."

Mufasa sat on his hind quarters. "We don't need to be anywhere anytime soon. Go ahead."

This time Danny's sigh became more exasperated. "Alright. Just before I turned eighteen years old…"

Sarabi sat up, surprised. "Eighteen? Impossible. I'm only five."

Danny continued. "…in human years. I'm probably 2½ in lion years. Anyway, just before I turned eighteen my family went on a journey while I was being trained on how to fly my ship. They came here to Africa." Tears threatened to well up in his face, but he kept it in check. It wouldn't be proper to cry in front of a king. "They never came out."

Sarabi's jaw dropped. "I'm so sorry, Danny."

Mufasa considered all of this. "But that still doesn't explain why you're here?"

Danny held up a hand. "I'm getting to that. The people told me that they were dead. Since then, I spent all of my time training and learning to fly. When I felt I was ready, I took off in search of my family. I couldn't fly across the seas without being noticed. While I was in space, some kind of anomaly trashed my ship. That's where I ended up here. I'm searching to find my family."

Mufasa was amazed. "I'm sorry to hear about your family. I find it incredible that you can fly in that metal beast of prey."

"Compliments of human advancements." Danny looked down. "But right now, I have no family. I haven't really kept in touch with any friends, no one who would notice that I'm gone."

Both lions had sadness and sympathy in their eyes and on their faces. Sarabi came up and nuzzled Danny's face. "I know how it feels to lose parents. I lost mine nearly a year ago."

Danny smiled glumly. "I appreciate it. I haven't had any form of comfort except my confidence that my family might still be alive." He looked over Mufasa's shoulder. "Do you mind if I walk around for a little while? I need to stretch my legs and would like to see what the lands look like."

Sarabi seemed hesitant. "Don't you think you should rest? You need time to recover."

Danny looked at his injured shoulder. "I think I'll be fine, as long as don't get attacked. If my leg was injured, I would stay here. Plus, I'm thirsty and a little hungry."

"Very well." Mufasa replied and began to turn. "Sarabi and I need to discuss some issues outside. If you would like to walk out and take a view of the lands, you may feel free. I'll have Sarafina escort you."

The man smiled. "Thanks, I appreciate the escort." He slowly got up as to avoid pain and followed them outside. Mufasa walked over to a lioness, who was also pregnant, and talked with her. Danny was pretty sure that was his escort, Sarafina. Mufasa was asking her to accompany him. She smiled and headed over to Danny. Unlike most of the lionesses, she had blue eyes, a rare gene for a lioness. Danny returned the smile. "Hi. I'm Danny Manning, but just call me Danny. I take it you're Sarafina?"

Her smile was bright as the sun. "Yes, it's nice to meet you." She frowned as she recalled what he said. "Why do you have two names?"

He chuckled. "That's how my kind identify each other, because a lot of us have the same first name, so the last name helps us figure out who is who."

"Oh, ok." Sarafina turned to the slope. "Would you like a tour of the Pride Lands?"

Danny nodded. "Sure, that would be nice."

* * *

Sarafina and Danny headed out towards the lands. She showed him many places. They walked by grazing herds from time to time. Danny stopped at a tree with bananas and ate a few to get some energy back. The two of them reached a waterfall near the edge of Pride Rock. Danny cupped his hands to get some water while Sarafina lapped the water into her mouth.

Danny wiped his mouth. "That was refreshing."

Sarafina smiled. "So, what do you think of the Pride Lands?"

"I think it is absolutely beautiful. It seems so perfect here, and yet it seems like something is missing or hidden."

"No place is without its quirks," the lioness said.

"Yeah," Danny replied. He remained silent for a moment. "One of those quirks, to me at least, is a talking animal."

Sarafina frowned. "Is something wrong with that?" Her tone suggested that she seemed offended.

"To a human, that is completely bizarre. There has never been any recordings of a human and an animal of any kind speaking verbally. So, don't be offended by what I'm saying. It's just all so much for me to take in at once. I'm still finding it odd that I can speak to you."

Sarafina nodded. "I understand. We have found it unusual to meet a man before. Mufasa had always told us stories from his father Ahadi about humans. But you certainly don't seem as dangerous as he tells us about men."

"Things are not always what they seem from the words of another."

"Well spoken. How did you get here?"

Danny washed some water over his shoulder. "My ship, which is a huge, flying metal bird to you, crashed here. Some bright light of some sort damaged my ship and sent me out of control."

"I meant why were you flying?"

Danny's expression was downcast. He sat down and wrapped his arms around his knees. "I was searching for my family."

Sarafina knew she had struck a nerve and walked to his side. She sat down. "If it's a sensitive subject, you don't have to tell me."

Danny brought a hand up. "No, it's okay." He sighed. "My family went on a vacation trip to Africa. I didn't go because I was training on how to fly my ship. One day, a man came to me. He said my family was dead."

The lioness rubbed her head up against him. "I'm sorry, Danny. It's never something you want to hear."

"But there was no confirmation and no bodies. That's why I'm out here. As far as I'm concerned, they're not dead until it is confirmed."

"Is there anything we can do for you?"

Danny didn't really know how the lions could help him. "I'm not sure, but I appreciate the support." In the distance, they heard a roar coming from Pride Rock. "What's going on?"

Sarafina turned around. "Hop on my back. We need to get back. Mufasa is going to make an announcement.

Danny hopped on her back and they took off. Sarafina, being pregnant, couldn't run as fast as a normal lioness could, but still was going fast. They ran past herds and went through tree brushes until they reached Pride Rock.

Danny got off of Sarafina to take some weight off. He followed her up the slope and noticed many lionesses were sitting out there. As he came into view, all their heads turned to face him. Most had smiles, but some had skeptical looks. The only one who looked hostile was one lioness who separated herself from the others. Her figure was sleek and pointy, with eyes that could rip through anybody's composure, and claws that could rip through some heavy meat.

He walked up to the base of the rock arch. A lot of questions ran through his head. _What do they want to discuss? Can I live here? Will I ever find my family? Or are they confirmed dead like the chaplain that came to my home that day? And what happened to my ship? _That last question hit him immediately. He was in a strange land and that ship might help him get out of here. Or at least have enough power to fly back to Pride Rock and set up a base of operations and home. Maybe he could, if allowed to stay, defend the lands at least until he could go out and find his family. Danny shook his head. _Let's not get ahead here._

He got to the top of the arch and took in the view. His jaw dropped. From the ground, the lands looked amazing enough, but a higher view was another story altogether. The grassy plains with acacia trees were beautiful, and the rivers lacing through the land only added to the blissful scene. It gave him some moments to relax. Danny smiled. _Well, I wouldn't mind living here if I can manage things. I wouldn't have to pay taxes, and I wouldn't have to worry about crime, but the lack of video games and regular food will take a toll. But time will tell on that. _He turned around and noticed that all of the lionesses began to form up around Mufasa and Sarabi. Mufasa looked Danny's way. "Danny, come down here," he said with a raised tone.

Danny trotted down to where they sat in a semi-circle. Mufasa looked around. "Has anyone seen Scar?" Getting no response, he shrugged. "Very well, I'll fill him in later."

"Actually, you don't need to." Everyone turned toward the direction of the clipped, accented male voice. Danny saw a male lion but unlike Mufasa, his fur was a chocolate brown and his mane black. Unusually scrawny for a male, there were two features that gave him a menacing appearance. First were his eyes, being a bright, eerie green. The other being a scar that came down over his left eye. Danny did his best not to shiver. _That must be Scar._ He watched Scar take a spot next to the lioness that gave Danny a hostile look and smiled at her.

Mufasa gave him a smile but Danny could sense the dark mood behind the smile. "Nice of you to join us, Scar." He raised his voice so everyone could hear him. "For those of you who don't know, this is Danny Manning, a human." The king began to walk around the inside of the group of lions. "He crashed at the edge of the Pride Lands and was in pretty bad shape. Sarabi and I have discussed what to do and have come to a conclusion." He stopped in front of the kid. "Danny, would you like to be a member of our pride?"

Scar was the first to react. "What!? Mufasa, you cannot be serious."

"I can and I am serious. Danny needs a home, and we've never seen any humans before."

"Exactly!" That was the hostile lioness next to Scar. "We can't trust him. You've always advised us about avoiding HIS kind. Don't tell me you're going back on what you said?"

"Silence, Zira!" Mufasa shot back. "I've already observed that he has a good heart. Even if he was dangerous, I doubt he would squander an opportunity for a home. He is without family and without a home, so I would like to welcome him to the pride. If nothing else, he can remain here until he chooses to leave." He turned to face his pride of lions. "However, since this is a first, we will settle this by vote. Who would like to accept him as a member of the pride?" All of the lionesses bowed to the ground, except for Zira. Scar also remained standing. Mufasa turned to Danny. "What do you say, Danny? Would you like to be a member of the pride?"

Danny from Mufasa's announcement up till that point, was speechless. He wasn't expecting this. Finally, he regained himself. "Are you sure about this? I mean I don't wanna be a burden to you."

"Nonsense, you wouldn't be a burden to us. Maybe this symbiotic relationship could benefit both of us."

"I don't…" He stopped as he saw the expression of the king. It was clear that they wanted to accept him as a member and get to know him. Danny smiled. "You know…it's always good to have a family."

Sarabi came up to him with a curious look on her face. "Is that a yes?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way."

Scar just growled and walked away with Zira by his side. Only Mufasa, Sarabi, a hornbill that just appeared, and Sarafina, remained. Mufasa shook his head. "Don't mind Scar and Zira. They usually keep to themselves, but they have their upsides."

Danny looked at them darkly as they walked out of side. "I don't know. There's something I don't like about them, and it's not just their hostile looks. But I'm not going on record of saying that I don't trust them."

Mufasa glanced at Scar before he was out of sight. "He's my brother. He may look suspicious, but he is one of ours."

That did little to quell Danny's doubts of Scar. But his attention was brought to a pregnant lioness who just came up to him. "Hi, I'm Ebere. It's nice to meet you." Her smile was heart-warming.

Danny returned the smile. "A pleasure to meet you too, Ebere. I see you're expecting a cub."

Her blue eyes sparkled. "Yes, I should be giving birth anytime now. In fact, Sarabi, Sarafina and I should go lay down."

"I hear that," Sarabi said with agreement.

That left Mufasa, Danny, and the hornbill. Mufasa pointed toward the hornbill. "This is my majordomo, Zazu. He assists me in giving early reports and announcements. One of my most reliable messengers."

Zazu bowed out of respect to Danny. "A pleasure to meet you, sir."

Danny just nodded. "Likewise, pal."

Zazu turned to Mufasa. "Well, I apologize for being late to the induction ceremony. I only just got wind of it recently. But I need to be getting back to what I was doing. Leopards can be a bit of a nuisance."

"Duly noted, Zazu," Mufasa replied with an obvious smirk on his face.

As Zazu took off, Danny's smile faded and his expression became serious. "Mufasa, I am grateful that you are letting me become a member of the Pride, but I have to do something right now. Mufasa looked at him intently as Danny spoke. "I need to head back to my ship, and see if I can repair it and bring it back to Pride Rock."


	2. A New Enemy

Chapter 2-A New Enemy

Danny and Mufasa both headed out for his ship. Danny didn't remember much, except that the_** Preliator**_ had been tilted on its side. He needed to fix whatever needed to be repaired and fly it back to Pride Rock. Only he and Mufasa went to the ship. The rest of the pride remained behind. Danny didn't know much about lions except the basics. He would have to go on the ship's database and research lions to understand their behavioral patterns and lifestyle. Danny smirked. _I'll bet none of the data will talk about talking lions._ As they walked, the various animals stopped to look at them for quite awhile and had heard chattering amongst them.

"Who is that?"

"More like _what_ is that?"

"Why is he walking with the king?"

Danny shrugged it off. None of the questions sounded threatening to him. They passed a shadowy region, a geyser crevice. "Mufasa, what is in that region?"

Mufasa's look was dark. "That is one area outside of our borders. It is home to the hyenas. Many generations ago, my ancestor King Mohatu banished the hyenas there because they were a constant disruption to the great circle of life."

Danny nodded. "Oh…the circle of life? What is that?"

"It is the cycle that benefits all creatures. We hunt to eat, but when we die, we become the grass. Many of the animals we lions hunt eat the grass. Hence, their meat benefits us and our bodies benefit them. But the hyenas disrupted by killing for pleasure as well as food."

Danny shrugged. "Well, while I do think it's wrong when man or animal kills for pleasure, I don't believe in any 'circle of life' new age junk. I'm not religious, but I believe that a God created us all and made man and animals in His own image. All animals were made by God, each with strengths and weaknesses."

Mufasa nodded. "Well, that's what you believe. I won't try to take that away from you."

"Um, not that I'm ungrateful or unappreciative but…why didn't you eat me? I would think that a lion would see a human as food."

Mufasa chuckled. "You said 'help' right before you passed out. So I helped." At Danny's humorous response, his smile faded a bit. "No, seriously…I don't know how to explain it, but I could tell there was something special about you. That's why we brought you back and treated your wounds. Come to think of it, how's your arm and shoulder?"

Danny moved his arm and shoulder with full movement. There was no pain. "It's good. What was that you put on?"

"It's gourd juice. And our shaman Rafiki, a mandrill, was the one who put it on. He treated you while you were out and told us you would be good as new in a couple of hours."

"Well, he did a good job. Oh, there's the ship." As they were coming over the hill, Danny spotted the ship. On the outside, the ship looked fine, but it was on the inside that mattered. The more sensitive parts were internal. "It seems okay, but a closer inspection will help me with the repairs."

Mufasa gazed at it with wonder in his eyes. "That is truly a magnificent thing. I wish I knew how it worked."

As Danny pulled out a remote and pushed a button, he turned around. "Well, if the internal damages are fixable, then you can sit in the front with me a look out at the Pride Lands like the birds can."

Mufasa's face was one of a boy being told his biggest dream was going to become reality. "Really?"

Danny's face turned serious as the ramp descended. "Well, you might exceed the weight limits and I might have to make you walk back to Pride Rock."

"What!?"

Danny laughed. "I'm kidding, I was being sarcastic." He looked at his ship with pride. "My ship has gotten me around everywhere safely where another ship probably couldn't. She's been my home and I even have a name for her. _**Paratus Preliator**_."

Mufasa nodded. "Nice name. What does it mean?"

Danny looked down at him. "Make ready the warrior."

"Very noble name. Do you think it applies to you?"

"I think it does, but I need to live it for the meaning to apply."

As Danny entered up the ramp, Mufasa took one step on it. "What would you like me to do?"

"Keep an eye out for any trouble."

Mufasa complied as Danny entered the ship. He walked into the cockpit and tried to power up the ship. He wasn't surprised to hear the engines whine for a moment and then die down. "Well, no surprise there." He checked to see if his AI system was still operational. He was relieved to see it come to life. "Computer, give me a ship diagnostic. Give the list starting with damages that need to be fixed before flying." He knew it couldn't respond verbally but it could give a list. It took a moment before the computer came back. Danny was surprised at the list.

Systems Damage:

Primary Circuit A3 Overloaded

Correctional Action: Replace Primary Circuit Card

Electrical Engine and Systems Charge Required for Ignition

Danny let out a sigh of relief. "Well, this shouldn't take too long. Replace a circuit card and jumpstart the ship. The jump start will take awhile but I should get it going within an hour." He got up to head in to back to the generator mainframe. Underneath the generator itself were the primary circuits. He unscrewed the plate cover and removed the circuit. From observation, the card was crispy black. "Oh, wow…that is definitely trash now." Tossing it behind him, Danny produced the new circuit card and slid it into its position. "Out with the bad, in with the good." He screwed the plate back on and headed for the independent battery storage.

Danny knew the jump would take about forty minutes before he could pump the igniter and power up the ship, but it was a relief to know that nothing else was damaged. It gave Danny wonder at how resilient the _**Paratus Preliator **_was. To crash-land like he did only to find some repairable internal damage was amazing. Then again, he did perform some maneuvers that saved a lot of repairs when he crashed.

He was just about to pick up the battery when he heard a beeping in the cockpit. He walked in to see the radar's holographic display on. Numerous red dots appeared from the south-southeast and were heading his way. Danny frowned. _That's odd. My battle radar doesn't pick up the heat of a body_. _It picks up the heat of… _Danny gulped. "Uh, Mufasa?" He raised his voice so the king could hear him. "Do you see anything to the south-southeast?" He didn't get an answer. Grabbing a pair of binoculars, he ran down the ramp and outside. Mufasa was out there and facing in the direction of the approaching radar blips. "I said, do you see anything?"

"No, but I can hear something," Mufasa replied.

Danny listened carefully. Sure enough, he could hear something as well. It was a rumbling, droning noise. Off in the distance he could see a cloud of dust forming. He pulled up the binoculars and looked through them. It was the last thing he expected to see. Off in the distance, he could see tanks. These weren't normal tanks, though. From what he could tell, they all had a cannon mounted on the right shoulder of the turret, and the binoculars were not picking up any thermal energy signatures. _They must be tank drones of some sort._ Either way, Danny could tell they meant business, and they must be here for his ship.

"What is it, Danny?" Mufasa asked him with worried eyes.

"They're tanks. They are metal vehicles like my ship, only their purpose is for battle on the ground."

Mufasa growled. "How do we fight them? I will not let them take my people and my land."

Danny shook his head. "We can't. Even a rhinoceros can't take it on head-to-head. Did you ever see something like this in the past?

"No, we've never seen anything other than animals. You and your ship are the only outside contact we've had."

The boy nodded. "I think they're after my ship, so I don't think they're here for your land. You get out of here. I will distract them…maybe if they go after me, they'll leave the Pride Lands alone."

Mufasa's eyes went wide and refused. "No way! I'm not leaving you."

Danny looked at him. "The kingdom needs their king, Sarabi needs her mate, and your cub needs a father. Don't throw that away on my account." He paused and got down on one knee. "If my family is dead, then maybe I will be seeing them again soon. Thanks for everything. Now, go."

Mufasa pulled him into a hug. Danny returned it and wrapped his arms around the lion's mane. "Come back in one piece."

The human released his hug and smirked. "Count on it." Mufasa then turned and ran back to the Pride Lands. Danny brought his attention back on the tank drones. He had maybe five minutes before they'd be on him and two minutes before they would sight the ship. They couldn't detect it because only the electrical systems were working, so they must've found it by trajectory calculations when he crashed. Danny went back up the ramp and grabbed a pistol and a special device for his ship. Running back down, he checked the pistol to see if there were rounds and flipped the safety off. He scoffed. "Well, this has been an interesting couple of days. First, talking animals…now, tank drones."

He pulled out the remote. It was an Iron Curtain igniter. Since the Iron Curtain was on a generator independent from the ship's primary generator, it was still operational. Danny pressed the button, and the _**Paratus Preliator **_disappeared from sight. He knew it wouldn't be found so long as no one bumped into it, but he needed to hide the device to avoid being found by whoever was coming. He found a hole near the acacia tree and placed the remote there and covered it up with sand. To mark it, he left a gold coin with a red flag and one star on it.

Danny got up and began running away from the ship and the Pride Lands. He needed to draw the tanks away from the family that took him in. When the tanks came into range, he began firing the pistol. He got four shots off when something hit his chest. It was a burning sensation and all of his nerves were firing off. He couldn't move. All he could do was fall on his knees and then his face. His world was spinning…

Darkness.

* * *

Mufasa ran as fast as he could. He felt ashamed for leaving one of his own members, but Danny was right. Mufasa had responsibilities to the kingdom, and he did not want to risk jeopardizing the lives of his people. But one thing was for sure: this was going to haunt him for a while. In all his time as king, he had never left someone behind. Just as Danny was coming around to living in the lands, he was now about to be taken out. He only hoped Danny would be back by nightfall.

He reached Pride Rock and ran up to the top. His lungs were burning from the nonstop running and was taking in heavy breaths. As the lionesses came around him, Sarabi came out of the cave with Sarafina, and headed toward him. When Sarabi came close, she could see the worry in his eyes. "What happened? Where's Danny?"

Mufasa waited a moment to catch his breath before answering. "We were on our way…to Danny's ship. He was busy working on it when these metal beasts came our way. He told me to get out and he would create a distraction to keep them away from here."

Sarafina looked with urgent eyes. "What happened to Danny?"

Mufasa shook his head sadly. "I don't know. I can't say for sure, but it doesn't look good."

Sarabi's eyes began to well up. "No, no it can't be. He can't be dead."

Mufasa tried to comfort his mate. "Don't worry, my love. He might just make it out." But he was only fooling himself. Even he doubted his own words.

Sadness struck them all. Only a few hours after declaring him a member of the pride, Danny was all but confirmed as dead. They could only hope he was still alive somewhere.

* * *

Danny slowly woke up. Already, he could feel a burning pain in his chest, and that was just the start of his problems. He was tied up and couldn't see because of a black cloth. Danny tried to wriggle his hands free, but the ropes were tied up to well. Danny sighed. "Boy, this is doing me no good. Geez, why me? Why do these things always happen to me?"

He could hear footsteps coming toward him and surrounding him. As much as he would like to vent his anger out, he held it in. He might need it if he was to escape. A male voice to his left spoke. "Enjoying the accommodations, friend?"

Danny gave an exasperated sigh. "You know, during an interrogation or social talk one would be able to see the one talking to them."

"No one sees Dasyu."

_Good, he gave me a name. Something to go on._ Danny turned his head in the direction of the voice. "Yeah, well I don't communicate very well under a shroud."

"Well, if he doesn't like what you have to say, then you will be wearing that shroud permanently."

Danny paused for a moment before saying, "I'll take that chance."

A moment later, he heard fingers snapping and the shroud came off of him. Danny looked around. He was staring at a group of people, humans. Danny was shocked to see humans in this area, the first he had come into since entering that portal days ago. He looked around to see he was in a room with rock walls. They were most likely in a cave. The clearing of a throat in front of him brought his attention back to the man in front of him. He was a fairly tall man with light brown hair. His cold, dark eyes betrayed no emotion. "Who and what are you?"

Danny straightened. "You should know what I am. I'm a human, just like you."

The group exchanged glances with each other. "Right. And your name?"

"Name's Danny. I take it you're Dasyu?"

"That's right," Dasyu replied. "So what were you doing all alone back where we found you?"

Danny shrugged. "I was out on a journey to study animals."

Dasyu punched Danny hard in the face. Already, the kid could feel blood dripping from his lip. Dasyu's expression was full of anger. "Wrong answer. We know you are alone but you didn't just suddenly appear here."

Danny gritted his teeth from the pain. At least they didn't know about Mufasa and the pride. "Your point being? I have legs to walk, you know."

"We picked up an unknown ship that penetrated the atmosphere. It crashed here and we sent out a retrieval team to pick up the ship. We found you but not the ship. Since you are the only one we saw from our scout leaving the area earlier, why don't you tell us where the ship is?"

Danny chuckled. "I knew it wouldn't be a good idea to just leave it there so I set it on a teleportation sequence. That way, it can't be found."

Dasyu snapped his fingers and one of his henchmen sent a roundhouse kick into Danny's stomach. He felt the air knocked out of him and he was gasping. While he was regaining his breath, Dasyu grabbed him by the collar and looked square into his eyes. "Then you'll just have to find it for us."

Even though he just had the air knocked out of him, he laughed. "Maybe you didn't hear me. It can't be found. One day you see it, the next day, you won't. There's only a slight possible chance of finding it by catching a randomized harmonics frequency." Danny was, of course, lying through his teeth. The ship was still where it was, but he hoped Dasyu would buy the bluff.

Dasyu smiled. "That's good enough. We have what we need to provide the right frequency."

Danny shook his head. "But you don't have the ship's frequency."

Dasyu tapped Danny's head with his finger. "Not all provisions are materials." That statement sent a chill through Danny. "You will provide the harmonics frequency, or else?"

Danny summoned up enough courage to say, "Or what?"

"I will subject you to tortures so horrible that it will give me nightmares for the rest of my life." Dasyu straightened up and snapped his fingers and three men untied Danny and held him up. "You will provide that ship for us, and then we will let you free. But until then we will be putting you up tonight in…one of our finest rooms. Assuming your roommates don't eat you first."

The last words sent a chill through Danny as he was led down to the cells. He slowly wondered what kind of cell he was being put in. It was a long walk down and as Danny was led into what looked to be a mineshaft. Small geysers of flames erupted in various parts of the ground. A few wooden bridges provided walkways over some flaming tar pits. It looked like rich minerals, particularly ore, were being extracted and placed into refinery equipment for processing. _What is going on here? _Danny wondered. One of the men opened up a cell that looked more like a huge cage. When he opened the cage, the other two men tossed Danny in there. After they left Danny with some food and water, he sat down. "Great, what else could go wrong?"

A growling behind him forced him to whip around. Surrounding him were about fifteen lionesses and one male lion. The male was a brown furred lion with a black mane and light blue eyes. Danny closed his eyes. "I had to ask."

The lion bared his teeth. "Who are you, stranger?"

"My name is Danny, a human."

The lion's expression did not change. "You are one of them." The lionesses flanked him, ready to pounce on Danny.

"Yes, I am one of them," Danny replied calmly, even though his nerves were going crazy. _At least, I think I am._

"So, why shouldn't I tear you apart for food for my pride?"

"Because they may be my species, but they are not my kind." This seemed to loosen up the mood of this pride. "As far as what I'm doing here, I'm just passing through."

The lion sat down and looked at him sternly. "You're not from around here, are you?"

"No, I'm not. Well, you know my name but I'm afraid I don't know yours."

"Jabari, king of the Shore Pride, rulers of the Tropic Lands." A cream-furred lioness came up next to him. "And this is my queen, Alijiah." Danny and Alijiah merely exchanged nods. "Half my pride were on a night-long hunt when these people came and took the rest of us in our sleep. They took us in cages and brought us here."

"These guys need to be taught a lesson," Danny said angrily. "But right now, we can only wait until tomorrow." He leaned back against the cage. "So…what's your home like?"

Jabari, caught off-guard by the sudden social talk, thought over for a second before answering. "Um, we live in a cave. The opening faces the east, and the sun fills it in the morning."

"Sounds like something I would like for my home in the mornings."

Jabari continued. "We usually have hunts during the day, but wouldn't completely ignore night hunts. There are herds of antelope, impalas, wildebeests, but water buffalos are the prey of choice for us. On the hot days, we jump in the water for a swim."

Danny was surprised, but only showed it through facial expressions. "I thought lions or cats in general, for that matter, don't like to be in the water."

"I guess we aren't your typical lions then. It's normal to us to swim, because it gets very hot on the beach. We also eat fish at times. For the most part, I patrol the area for rogue males and other threats to my pride. Unfortunately, with no other male in the pride right now, my people back home are very vulnerable."

Danny nodded. "Very commendable doing your duty. I would do the same."

Jabari gave a quizzical look. "What about your home?"

Danny was silent for a moment and Jabari caught it. Danny managed a weak smile. "Interesting question, actually." He sighed. "I live in a structure called a house. It's kinda like your cave, but much more fancy. I usually go to school for education, to learn for a career."

"Career?" Alijiah asked.

"It's a lifelong duty, like a king. Jabari's career is to rule and defend his pride." The pride understood that explanation as Danny continued. "My career was to be a pilot, one who flies ships. I achieved that and now am a certified pilot."

Alijiah smiled. "That's great that you accomplished what you wanted to become. What about your family?"

That still ate away at Danny. He kept his expression calm, but his voice was shaky. "My dad was leader of a huge business, while my mom stayed at home and kept it clean and managed. My parents names are Dennis and Gabrielle. I also have two little sisters named Raechel and Callie. They can be cool, but they are generally annoying." He paused. "I am…was close to my family, but I loved to have fun with my friends when they were free."

Alijiah caught the "was" in that statement. "That sounds nice…where is your family?"

Danny lowered his head, shedding a tear as he was brought to memory what happened. "Another good question. They were on a safari, here in Africa. I had to stay behind to continue my education. I was training on my ship when another man came to me. He told me my family went missing a few days before and said they were killed. There was a signature of my family's boat on radar, and a massive detonation and explosion was detected nearby. They never found the boat nor the bodies."

Alijiah's mouth was slightly agape. "Oh, I'm so sorry."

"Well, it's not going to bring them back. But then again, that's why I'm here. They never confirmed they were dead, so I will search for them, even though things look bleak. I still believe my family might be alive."

"You're very strong to not give up or give in without a fight," Jabari said. "That makes for a great leader. But how did you get here, in this place?"

He told the story, from how he got to these lands to Mufasa taking him in up until the current point. "I was knocked out so I don't have an exact clue where the Pride Lands are, but when I get out of here, I will do the best I can. I…" He stopped and drew his eyes to a cub in the corner. The cub was also brown-furred but a little lighter than Jabari, with a black tuft of fur on his hair. The most peculiar feature were the tufts on his ears, like a caracal. He was cuddled up in a corner near two lionesses. Danny looked at Jabari. "Your son?"

"No." Jabari shook his head. "This one was already in here when we got here. He said he was lost from his pride and was found by these people."

Danny came up to him. He got down on one knee. "Hey there, little fella." The cub shakily got up. "I'm Danny. What's your name?"

"M-Malka." He said nervously. "D-Do you have any food? I'm hungry."

"Sure, hold on." Danny walked back to the fairly big bowl of meat and the bottle of water and brought it back to Malka. "Here you go." He set it down for Malka to eat. The cub immediately began eating away at the meat. While he was doing that, Danny took a sip of the water and set it back down for Malka. Malka spent very little time devouring the food and water. When he was done, the energy was definitely restored in the cub's body. Malka walked up and sat down in front of Danny with a smile. "Thanks for the food."

"No problem. I'll be right back, Malka." He walked back to Jabari. The lion's expression held intrigue and friendliness to Danny for his actions. Danny walked up to him. "He's gonna need the food and water…we can last a little longer."

Alijiah stared at him in amazement. "You would do that for a stranger?"

Danny smiled at her. "A lion did that for me when I was nothing but a stranger not too long ago. I feel as though I should do the same for you." He looked at Jabari with determination in his eyes. "I lost my own family, and I will not let that happen to you, to Malka, or anyone here. I swear to you, I will not leave here unless you leave here as free beings who can return to their home, to their family. If I die doing so, at least I can say I did it saving the lives of others."

Jabari beamed at him. "I guess I was wrong about you. If we make it out alive, I will see to it that your pride and mine will forever remain allies."

Danny nodded. "Okay, here's the plan."


	3. Escape Attempt

Chapter 3-Escape Attempt

Danny woke up in the morning. He stretched his muscles and began doing light exercises. It was all he could do to occupy his time, but the lack of food and water made him stop earlier than he was used to. As Jabari, Alijiah, Malka and the rest of the pride woke up, three guards came back to the cage; one was holding a taser staff. The guards opened the cage and the one holding the staff came in first. The lions growled at the hostile guard and lowered themselves to the ground. Danny took a step forward, not showing any concern of the staff.

The other two guards came in. One of them smiled. "It's time to go, meat."

The guard with the staff charged Danny. Danny sidestepped and grabbed the middle of the staff. The surprised guard received a punch to the mouth, knocking him to the ground dazed. Danny flicked his hand. His face felt like metal. The other guards put their hands on their pistols. Danny pointed at them. "Look, next time you're gonna come to get me, just do so. Don't send one of these twerps to hit me with a staff."

"A necessary precaution for protection from the lions."

"Whatever. Let's go." He walked in between the guards. As he did, he intentionally bumped into one of them. Seizing the moment, he grabbed the pistol and stuffed it in the huge pocket in the pant leg of his flight suit.

The guard looked angry now. "You disrespectful little punk!" He punched Danny in the face, knocking him down to the ground. This time, they gripped him with tight arms as they escorted him away. The dazed guard slowly got up and locked the cage, following behind Danny. They led him down the hall to a platform overlooking a huge operation. It was a huge assembly factory, building an army and air force. It looked large enough to dominate the entire continent of Africa. Danny didn't know what was going on, but he didn't like it.

Standing at the edge of the platform with his hands behind his back, was Dasyu. Dasyu turned when he heard footsteps and smiled. "Well Danny…I hoped you slept well. You're gonna need it to focus on your job. If you do it, I will let you go. Let's go for a walk." He turned around to a slope heading down in a spiral.

Danny looked around at the bottom. All over the place were assembly lines. Each one making vehicle drones like the robo-tanks he saw before. Also being made were jet drones and smaller vehicle drones similar to motorcycles. But for what purpose? And the outer structure was easy to guess. "It's very impressive that you have a huge operation such as this inside a mountain."

Dasyu chuckled. "Thanks. It is rather clever isn't it. No energy signature and unnoticed from outside contact."

Danny's face went slack. I could get an answer as to whether I'm on Earth in real time or another time. "Why would you have to worry about being detected? I thought there was no people on the planet."

Dasyu kept walking and waved around his hand. "Not all detection problems are on a planet's surface."

That didn't give the kid a definitive answer, but suggested there were no people on the planet. The portal Danny went through might still be Earth, but there were no people here. But the way he talks, it sounds like there's another force in a far galaxy. He brushed those thoughts aside. He needed to focus on the task in front of him. "But what is the purpose of my ship? And why are you building an army of drones?"

Dasyu walked over to a huge reactor of some sort as they reached the bottom of the downward slope. There were multiple supercomputer stations positioned around it. "I am building an army to cover the four corners of these globes using our supplies from deep below in the surface." He turned to face Danny, pointing a finger at him. "Your ship has an AI on it."

"So?" Danny asked, frowning.

"You're AI will give my drones knowledge, data, and neural brain activity to make the drones be able to think and coordinate precisely. Once I have that, I will send them out everywhere eliminate all beings and creatures on the face of this planet. Then I can set up a global base of operations."

That hit Danny with a huge, mental thud. Dasyu was going to send out these drones and kill everything and everyone he knew. What little remained of his life would be destroyed in a matter of months, if not weeks. This was too much. This monster needed to be stopped at all costs. "What about the lions you have here?"

Dasyu blinked. "A labor force for gathering raw materials…and test subjects for certain weapons systems." Danny held back the surprise in his face as Dasyu pointed to the chair. "Now give us the location of the ship. Otherwise, I may subject some certain others to the interrogations I mentioned last night."

Danny knew he was referring to the lions he spent the night with. "Alright…Alright, I'll do it."

Dasyu smiled. "I thought you would see it our way. Get going."

Danny sat down and fiddled around with the computers. He couldn't give them what he wanted or he would destroy everything and everyone. But he also didn't want the captive lions to be subjected to torture either. He had to think fast but he couldn't do anything with Dasyu over his shoulder. Not knowing what else to do and not chancing testing Dasyu's patience, he began searching for the _**Paratus Preliator**_.

He tried to think up of randomized vectors to stall. Danny had remembered seeing a clothing room in passing. That would be the first place he would need to head to. But that was the second step of the plan. He needed to find an escape opportunity. Glancing around, he found it: a stack of fuel barrels to his left. All Danny had to do was wait for the right moment. Unfortunately, Dasyu's patience, or lack thereof, was making that difficult. "Why is this taking so long?"

Danny gritted his teeth. "I told you, it's on randomized vectors. You didn't think this was going to take five minutes, did you?"

He heard a click behind him. "You know what I think? I think you know exactly where it is, but you don't want to tell me." Danny turned to see the man aiming a pistol at him. "I think you've had your chance."

Normally, a person Danny's age would be too scared to speak. But with all of the hardships in life that he had, he had little to no fear of death. He looked at Dasyu calmly. "You kill me, and you will never find that ship."

Dasyu was about to pull the trigger when a soldier came up to him. "Sir, we've just had a report of…"

Dasyu was irritated. "This not the time to come for reports. If I…"

Danny took the advantage while he was distracted. He typed in a code for the ship to activate a reverse frequency to the computer he was working on. A loading bar came up and loaded the code in seconds. Suddenly, alarms went off. Dasyu and the others panicked when a computerized voice sounded off. "Warning. Reactor reaching critical levels. Core Reactor meltdown…in fifteen minutes."

Dasyu flew his arms up in the air. "What the devil is going on!?"

Danny pulled out the pistol from his leg pocket and aimed for the barrels. A shot rang off and hit the center of the group of barrels. The barrels exploded, the concussive blast knocking everyone off of their feet. The explosion was ringing in Danny's ears as he hit the ground. But he recovered and got up, shooting the computer up and running as fast as he could.

Dasyu got up slowly. His head was ringing in his ears, but he recovered in decent time. He looked around for Danny. The kid was gone and the computer he was working on was trash, shot up with bullets. The soldier who interrupted him struggled to get to his knees, but was dragged to his feet by Dasyu. "Find the boy and kill him. Send everyone after him. NOW!"

All the guards scattered around and searched for him, but it didn't occur to them that the reactor was going to blow soon. They needed to find the man. One of the masked guards searched around each corner heading up the slope. Multiple guards passed him, heading down to where Dasyu was barking orders. He kept a careful watch for anything suspicious, anything out of the ordinary and keeping his shotgun at the ready. When he was near the top, the guard looked around for other guards and found none. He grabbed his mask and yanked it off.

It was Danny. He had run to the room with uniforms, weapons and handheld pathfinders. He quickly shucked his tattered and torn flight suit and whipped on a uniform. He grabbed a shotgun, a box of shells, and a pathfinder. Now he was at the top of the slope and heading back down the tunnel. As it opened up, he reached the mineshaft where the cages were.

Jabari and the others saw him and ran to the cage. Jabari grinned. "You came back." It was more of a statement than a question.

Danny returned the grin. "You didn't think I was just going to leave you, did you?" He worked to pick the lock but it did no good. An explosion made him whip his head around. The reactor was going to blow in maybe ten minutes. Already, he could hear voices back in the tunnel. "Crap, they're coming."

Jabari shook his head. "Just get out and save yourself."

Danny looked at the lion as though he were asking him to jump onto a bed of spikes. "No way. I told you I was going to get you out of here." He pumped the shotgun. "You have someone to return to…I don't, so I have no problem dying." He fired a shot into the lock.

Jabari backed up, but kept his voice calm, pleading. "No, Danny. They're gonna hear the noise. Get out while you can."

Danny ignored him, firing two more shots into the lock. He yanked the cage door open to face a bunch of surprised lions. He put an arm around Jabari's mane. He gave him a warm smile. "Let's get out of here together, Jabari." Jabari responded by nuzzling him and holding him in an embrace. The voices grew louder. Danny got up. "Let's move out." He got out of the cage and covered them. As they came out, two guards came out of the tunnel. Danny fired two shots and both went down. He led them away from the tunnel.

They ran up a slope and down a corridor. Danny stopped. Jabari walked up next to him. "What's wrong, Danny?"

Danny didn't answer, but he was looking at a map. Where they were at, they were at an elevator point, one that would lead them up to the surface. It also led to the base of the mountain, where a small hangar was located at. He looked to the right; there was a freight elevator. He ran to it and switched the lever next to the door. "Everyone aboard." All of the lions and cubs obeyed and boarded the elevator. Danny hit the highest level and waited. He turned to the lions. "When we reach the top, all of you are going to run in the direction of the moon. Lionesses should grab the cubs because they won't run fast enough before this mountain explodes."

"What about you?" Alijiah asked.

"I'm going to go back inside to the bottom of the mountain. There is a place where I might find a means of transportation fast enough to get me away. I can't run fast enough to clear the explosion."

They reached the top and the elevator opened. Danny checked all around for any attacks but got none. As Jabari, Alijiah, and the rest began running, Malka turned to look at Danny. "Will I ever see you again?"

Danny smiled glumly. "I hope so," was all he said before a lioness grabbed Malka and ran down the mountain.

Danny got back in and hit the base level of the mountain. It was a good minute before he heard the computer say, "Danger, danger. Reactor Core meltdown in eight minutes." Danny growled. Great, only eight minutes left. Fortunately, the elevator was fast in moving up and down. He made it to the base of the mountain, where the hangar bay was at.

For the most part, the hangar was empty. A few fighters and a transport, but the vehicle on the far side by itself caught his attention: a hover-bike of some sort. It didn't look like it sported weapons of any kind, but it looked built for speed. Speed was good enough for Danny. He headed for the bike. "Time to go."

"What? Without saying goodbye? Gee, I'm hurt."

Danny stopped in the middle of the hangar. He turned around to face Dasyu. "You know, it's just bad luck seeing something so ugly twice in one day." He turned around to walk over to the bike.

"Where do you think you're going?" Dasyu asked with a demanding tone.

"Simple." Danny whipped around with the shotgun aimed at Dasyu. He quickly pulled the trigger and the shot echoed throughout the hangar. The bulk of the shotgun shell hit Dasyu and blew him to the ground. "I'm leaving."

He began walking back to the bike when he heard the last voice he expected to hear: Dasyu's. "But they're playing our song, and it's time to dance."

Danny's teeth were clenched tight in fear. How can that man be alive after a shotgun blast at close range? He turned around to see not Dasyu, but a lion. Suddenly, the lion transformed into a robot. "Now you now what my true form is, Danny. Sad to say, I can't let you live after what you've done to my operation here. I had a lot invested here, and there's no way I will let you go unpunished."

Danny aimed the shotgun at him. He was too shocked to believe Dasyu wasn't human. That would explain why my hand hurt when I punched that guard. "There's no way you're still alive. I shot you."

Dasyu smiled. "Yes, you did. But, uh…you're not getting out of here." He raised his fists in a fighting stance.

Danny realized he needed to fight his way through Dasyu now. He put down the shotgun and grabbed a piece of pipe that broke off from the piping up in the ceiling. "This isn't jungle warfare, but it still has the same rules…anything goes."

Dasyu made the first move: a swing to the head. Danny ducked under the predictable move and swung the pipe around. It connected with Dasyu's head. Normally, a being would be knocked unconscious from the blow, but Dasyu was only slightly dazed. He came around and punched Danny in the jaw. Danny went with the punch to avoid the most damage from momentum but it still hurt. The metal fist knocked him back. He backpedaled and braced himself for the next attack.

Danny knew he wouldn't keep this up forever, but he needed to figure out a solution. Dasyu was a robot, but what weakness could he have? Then it hit him. A robot can't take an overload of electricity. As he blocked Dasyu's blows with his pipe, he looked around for a power source. He found power cables spread all across the hangar bay from the explosions buckling the supports on the ceiling. The computer sounded off again. "Warning, reactor core reaching critical compromise. Four minutes to explosion."

The announcement distracted Danny, allowing Dasyu to kick him in the chest. The blow sent Danny flying back to the ground. He landed right by a cable that was sliced from a sharp rock that landed nearby; sparks were flying from the end. By the time he processed the fact that he was on the ground, it was too late. Dasyu grabbed him by the neck and hauled him up to his knees. The transformer smiled. "Your time has come to die, Danny."

To his surprise, Danny smiled back. "Guess again, stupid." With his left hand, he tried to bring his arm down on Dasyu's neck. Dasyu instinctively grabbed it, leaving Danny's right hand open to attack. He grabbed the sparking cable and shoved it into Dasyu's chest. He screamed as electricity soared through him, forcing him to let go of Danny. Danny quickly backed away as Dasyu fell down. Smoke was rising from the electricity overloading his body. Dasyu continued to shake and twitch until his bright yellow eyes faded out.

Danny picked up his shotgun and looked down at Dasyu's body all the while regaining his breath from the metal fist clamped down on his windpipe. He saw Dasyu's eyes twitching but other than that, he wasn't moving. Danny just looked at him coldly. "You had it coming." He spun on his heel and ran to the speeder bike. He had about two minutes.

Danny hopped onto the speeder bike and studied the controls. They were fairly easy to handle, and Danny hit the power button. Immediately, the engine gave off a humming sound as it came to life. The handlebars were similar to a motorcycle, but instead of a wheel, the bike had steering vanes. The thrust control was a lever on the right handle. As he pulled it down, the bike picked up speed. He turned the bike in the direction of the hangar bay door and pulled the thrust handle all the way down. Speed picked up immediately and he gripped the bars so tightly that his knuckles turned white.

When he was about 100 yards away, a huge explosion erupted from inside the mountain. Secondary explosions tore the mountain apart, and the mountain caved in on itself, leaving nothing but a huge pile of rocks and pillars. Once he was sure he was clear of the falling debris, Danny stopped the bike and looked back at the site. Something didn't feel right. He felt as though he didn't succeed. But this wasn't the time for that. "Hasta la vista, baby."

He sped further in the direction of the moon, and it wasn't long before the thermal radar picked up a tight group of body heat too big to be a single animal. As he closed in, he could recognize Jabari and the others in the moonlight. It didn't surprise Danny that they took a defensive position; they couldn't recognize him on the bike nor would they recognize the vehicle. He called out to them. "Jabari! Is that you?"

Jabari's head came up as Danny stopped and powered down the bike. "Danny! You're alive."

Danny smirked. "Would you expect anything less?"

"Not anymore," Jabari replied as he, Alijiah, Malka, and a couple others tackled him, rolling around and playing with him.

Danny was crushed. "Guys…can't breathe…please get off." As they got off, Danny got back up on his knees and regained his breath. "Yeah, you guys gotta remember that I'm smaller than you. I can't take as much direct weight."

Alijiah smiled. "That's just how we show our gratitude. You saved our lives."

Jabari walked up next to him. "We are in your debt," He bowed low with the others following suit.

Danny felt his cheeks going red; he was not used to this. "How about escorting me back to…my pride? As for your debt, all you owe me is your friendship, because I have very little friends here."

"Not a problem. From now on, my pride and kingdom and your own pride will be allied with yours," Jabari said, beaming. "I would very much like to meet your king."

"Don't worry. You will meet King Mufasa soon." Danny looked back. "But right now we should get going. I don't want to take the chance of any survivors back there coming our way." As he got back on the speeder bike, he turned on the radar instead of the thermal scanner. He typed in the energy signature of the _**Paratus Preliator** _and waited. It took only a few seconds before it came up. It was in the direction of the moon, but it would take some time. "We will continue in the direction of the moon, but we won't make it tonight. If we push it, we can be there by tomorrow evening."

Alijiah spoke up. "Once we reach a comfortable spot, I will take the lionesses out for a hunt to bring back food for us to eat."

Danny nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Just make sure no one is directly behind me. I don't want anyone dying from the exhaust fumes."

As they headed out, a pair of bright yellow eyes watched them from far back by the mountain. "Danny…we ain't done, boy. Not by a long shot. It may take years, but I will succeed. You, on the other hand, will live only long enough to realize that you are a failure."

* * *

It was a couple hours of travel before Danny and the others stopped. The lionesses went out and brought back a zebra. A rather huge slab of meat was given to Danny, but he cut it in half. Using a lighter he found in his uniform, he gathered sticks and built a small fire. Putting two stones around it and a long, thin rock on top of the fire, he cooked his meat until it was brown. The others asked him why he did this. He told them humans can't eat meat raw or they would get sick. Afterwards, he explained to them his ship and how it could fly like a bird. They were all fascinated by its performance and description, but even more excited when Danny told them they would be inside and feel what it's like to be a bird.

Danny had built an even bigger fire for everyone because it was a particularly cold night. Everyone was just going to sleep when Danny finished his discussion with Jabari and Alijiah. "We're a little over twenty clicks to my ship. Everyone can get in my ship and I will fly my ship back to Pride Rock so you can meet my leader."

Jabari nodded. "Okay, then we will establish relations and then be on our way back to our lands."

"Do you know the way?"

Jabari yawned. "Our scent is easily recognizable. We have it spread on the edges of the land. Already, I can smell it. We should be there soon after we drop you off."

Alijiah, who was with the others before, came up to them. "My love, I have something that needs to be brought to your attention."

"Go ahead."

"Malka. What do we do with him? He has been missing from his pride for some time. Should we take him as one of our own?"

"I don't know. I would like to take him, but I would prefer a prince of my own blood. And if I have Malka and a prince, then my son would be the next king. I don't want to take the chance that Malka would cause problems."

Danny raised his hand. "Uh, I might have a way to solve this problem." They both turned to face him. "I could take him to Mufasa and keep him there until we find his pride. Mufasa wouldn't mind having him there." He chuckled. "Besides, I see Malka as the little brother I never had. I always wanted a little brother, and I would love to have him with me until he can get home."

Jabari considered this. "Very well, he is under your care."

Alijiah nodded her head towards the rest of the pride. "With that settled, let's get some sleep."

As she and Jabari headed off, Danny set up his sleeping bag that he had found in the bike. It was small but it fit for him. He didn't notice he had a survival kit attached to the speeder until they had arrived at their temporary home for the night: a rock cave covered on top with grass and an acacia tree. While the lions slept in the cave, Danny stayed out under the stars by the fire.

He had his sleeping bag and makeshift pillow set up when someone came up behind him. He pulled out his pistol and aimed it at the direction of the noise. "Who's there?" He demanded. Malka came out, obviously scared of the weapon. Danny put it down. "Geez, you scared the crap out of me. What's up?" Already, he was feeling sorry for pointing his pistol at the cub.

"I-I was just wondering why you're sleeping out here." He sat down next to Danny.

"I like sleeping outdoors. Besides, I would like to keep watch in case something happens." He looked at Malka. "So how did you get lost?"

"I was out playing in the fields with the lionesses. My mom was out with another hunting party for the day and my dad was doing his kingly duties. I didn't realize they had left. When I'm on my own, my sense of direction is not that great. And then those people back at the mountain found me and took me." Malka's eyes were welling up with tears. "I'm so scared being alone, but you couldn't tell if I was with others." He looked up at Danny with tears already running down his face. "Am I ever going to see my family again?"

Danny pulled the cub to him and held him closely. "We will find your family. King Mufasa will send messengers around the land to find your pride. As for being alone, you're not. At least until we get you to your family, I will be with you the whole time and won't leave you. Because you're like the little brother I never had."

Malka smiled. "Thanks, Danny. What about your family?"

Danny was silent and Malka knew he struck a nerve. Danny sighed. "You see, that's the difference between you and me. You still have your family. Mine was killed in a boating accident. My father, my mother, my two younger sisters…I have no one left. And that's why I'm here…I'm searching for them." Now it was his turn to tear up. He missed his family a lot, and he would trade any of his things to bring them back. Yet he somehow felt the same with Mufasa and Sarabi.

Malka noticed the tears. "Are you okay?"

Danny smiled. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He realized Malka was shaking from the cold and unzipped his sleeping bag. "It's kinda cold tonight…why don't you sleep in the bag? There's more than enough room."

Malka's expression brightened. "Thanks." He backed himself into the bag and Danny zipped it up. They both fit snugly. Malka nuzzled up against Danny's chest. "Goodnight."

Danny put a hand on top the cubs head and rubbed it gently. "Sleep tight, brother." He took one last look at the stars before going to sleep.


	4. Diplomatic Terms

Chapter 4-Diplomatic Terms

Danny woke up the next morning. Immediately, he felt the aching pain in his jaw from the fight with Dasyu. He unzipped the bag to get out, but made sure not to wake Malka up. He smiled as he looked at the cub. Malka was sleeping soundly; his black tufted ears twitching a few times. Behind him, he heard movement. He also heard a voice. "That looked so cute." Immediately his face went red as he recognized Alijiah's voice.

He turned to face the pride. They all wore smirks on their faces, especially Jabari. "Did I sleep in?"

"Kind of…we were hoping you'd be ready to go."

"Yeah, give me a few minutes." Danny reached down and shook Malka. "Hey, wake up."

Malka woke up and yawned. "Morning, Danny. Are we leaving?"

Danny nodded. "Yep, let's get going." Danny looked to Jabari as he zipped up his sleeping bag and rolled it up. "Give me the three cubs and I'll have them sit in the compartment in the back of my seat. That way we can move faster."

"Sounds good. We should get moving." Jabari rounded the lionesses up as Danny placed Malka and the other two cubs in his compartment box behind his seat. He powered up his speeder and they were on their way.

* * *

Later on in the day, they closed in on Danny's ship. The group was now at the edge of the Pride Lands. Danny powered off the bike when they reached the huge acacia tree. He set down the cubs as the rest of the pride made it. Danny found the coin by the trunk of the tree and began digging. It had been a long day and Jabari's pride would have to rest at Pride Rock. They had found some food during the day and ate their fill, so they had enough energy to make it, but they would still need to rest, probably spend the night. He finally found the device and pulled it out of the hole.

A lioness looked around as she walked toward him. "Where is this ship? I don't see it." Suddenly, her head smacked into the invisible hull with a dull _clank_. The lioness reeled back. "Ow, my head. My head, my head hurts."

Danny cracked up. "You may not see it, but you could definitely feel it." With that, he started laughing. The lioness was not happy, and backed that up with a growl. Danny quickly choked up the laughing and hit the button on the remote. The ship faded into visibility. Everyone standing there had intrigued looks.

Jabari nodded with approval. "Impressive. Are we flying now?"

Danny shook his head. "No, I need to jumpstart the ship. It should only take about twenty to forty minutes." He hauled the speeder bike up into the ship and grabbed the power cables. He hooked them up to the generator and attached all four to individual batteries to speed up time. He didn't want to be taking any chances like the last time. He turned on all four batteries and let them charge up the generator. With four, it shouldn't take more than twenty minutes.

He walked outside, grabbing some binoculars on the way out. Jabari was waiting for him. "Well?"

Danny walked to the direction where they traveled from. "It's going to take twenty minutes before I can ignite the ship. Once that is done, we'll be on our way." He pulled up his binoculars and looked out across the land, scanning the area.

"What are you doing?"

Not taking his mind off the job, the human replied, "Just making sure no one was following us…it doesn't look like we had anyone on our tails." He brought his binoculars down and walked to the other side, where Pride Rock was. He pulled his binoculars back up to his eyes. Already, he could see numerous animals surrounding the huge rock. At the top he could see a mandrill holding a cub in the air. "What the heck?"

"What is it?"

"It looks like there's a ceremony on Pride Rock."

"A blessing ceremony, perhaps?"

"I don't know…doesn't matter. We just need to get over there." He turned back to Jabari. "Get everyone aboard. We're leaving as soon as possible."

Danny headed back in, with Jabari's pride shuffling inside. After twenty minutes, the generator was at full power. Danny primed the igniter and pressed his palm on the power button. The engine sputtered for a few seconds, but it came to life with a roar. Danny slowly leveled the ship since it was leaning on one side, and began to ascend into the sky. Malka and Jabari were sitting with him in the cockpit. They were astonished to be looking down at land like a bird of the sky. Danny smiled. _Time to go home._

* * *

"Sarabi and I didn't see you at the presentation of Simba," Mufasa said with a slightly irritated tone. He was talking to his younger brother Scar, who was sitting in a small stone arch next to Pride Rock. He had been trying to get over the possible death of Danny, and his brother not being at his son's blessing ceremony only compounded his attitude.

Scar, meanwhile, put on a shown of sadness. "That was today? Oh, I feel simply awful." With his last words, he drug his nails on the rock wall next to him. Zazu, Mufasa's majordomo, did not take well to that. Scar flexed his claws. "Must've slipped my mind."

Zazu flew up into his face. "Yes, well as slippery as your mind is, as the king's brother, you should've been first in line." Scar made a quick snap with his mouth, scaring Zazu with his bare teeth. He hid behind Mufasa's leg.

Scar lowered his head toward the bird. "I was first in line…until the little hairball was born."

Mufasa lowered his head to see Scar eye-to-eye. "That hairball is my son, and your future king."

Scar snorted. "Well, then I shall practice my curtsy." He turned around to leave for the nearby waterhole.

Mufasa glared at him. "Don't turn your back on me, Scar."

Scar turned his head back. "Oh no, Mufasa. Perhaps you shouldn't turn your back on me."

Mufasa roared loudly and blocked his path. He was clearly angry. He looked his brother straight in the eye. "Is that a challenge?"

Scar, who was slightly surprised by Mufasa's reaction, just shook his head. "Ooh…temper, temper. I wouldn't dream of challenging you."

Zazu landed right in between them, facing Scar. "Pity. Why not?"

Scar smiled. "Well as far as brains go, I got the lion's share." His smiled disappeared when he looked back up at Mufasa. "But when it comes to brute strength…" He walked by them. "…I'm at the shallow end of the gene pool." Scar walked down to the waterhole.

Mufasa just looked at his little brother with a dull expression. Scar was his brother, but Scar seemed to resent him for everything. Mufasa being favored by their father didn't help. In fact, it probably started it. Ahadi never took Scar out around the kingdom, never explained and demonstrated the duties as king. Mufasa felt sympathetic for his younger brother.

Zazu shook his head and sighed. "There's one in every family, sire. Two in mine, actually…and they always go about ruining special occasions."

Mufasa sighed as well. "Whatever am I going to do with him?"

Zazu smiled. "He'd make a very handsome throw rug."

Mufasa looked at him, surprised and amused at the same time. "Zazu."

"And just think, whenever he gets dirty you can take him outside and beat him," Zazu finished.

Mufasa laughed as they headed back to Pride Rock. Already, the sun was setting and they would be turning in for the night. Soon afterwards, Mufasa's ears perked up. "Do you hear something, Zazu?"

Zazu stopped flying and landed by the king's feet. "Yes, I hear it too. But I've never heard anything like it before, and it's coming from the sky." Mufasa immediately felt a surge of hope and ran for the nearest clearing, leaving Zazu in the dust. Zazu coughed as he flew after him. "Wait, sire. Wait for me."

Mufasa reached a clearing and looked out into the Pride Lands. In the air, flying towards them, was Danny's ship. Mufasa let out a roar for the lionesses to rally at his point. It wasn't long before the lionesses came to him. Sarabi and Sarafina were among the few who lagged behind, making sure their cubs were with them. As they gathered around, Mufasa beamed at them. "That flying ship belongs to Danny. He's alive."

Most of the lionesses let out whoops of joy. Zira, on the other hand, did not. "What? That human!? That's what you wanted us here for?"

Mufasa glared at her. "He is one of ours. Danny is no different than any of you being lost and now found."

Sarafina frowned. "But didn't you say he was captured?"

Mufasa turned to her. "Apparently he escaped."

Her frown didn't go away. "But couldn't any of his captors have the ability to fly that metal beast?"

Mufasa's face went slack. He didn't think about that possibility. "Good point. Still, let's go up there and find out. Just be cautious." He now focused his attention at his mate. "Sarabi, make sure all lionesses with cubs remain in the rear of the group in the event of hostilities."

Sarabi smiled. "You can count on me, love."

Mufasa led the pride up to the top of the summit of Pride Rock, as that's where the ship was landing. When they made it to the top, the ship had already landed. Steam was hissing out of the "legs" of the ship. The landing ramp lowered. At first, no one came out, and Mufasa positioned himself for attack. He was relieved and overjoyed when Danny walked down the ramp.

Danny smirked. "Hey, cats. Did you miss me?"

"You have no idea," Mufasa replied, as he and the rest of the pride charged him and knocked him to the ground.

Danny laughed as they rolled over him and licked him with their rough tongues. Of course, the weight was beginning to be too much for him. "I glad to be with you guys again." His voice suddenly became raspy. "And I can't breathe." They got the message and got off of him. He caught his breath. "I'll assume you missed me."

Sarabi came up to him and nuzzled him with her face. "Assume away." Danny wrapped his arm around her neck. "We missed you very much."

"I missed all of you too."

"Hey, mom. Who's this?" Danny turned his attention to a young male cub standing by Sarabi. He had golden fur and ruby eyes much like Sarabi's.

Sarabi broke away from Danny and smiled at him. "This is Danny, Simba. He is one of us."

The cub frowned. "He doesn't look like one of us."

Everyone laughed at this. Sarabi brought her head down to his level. "He's a human, a different species, but the pride has accepted him because he has nowhere else to go."

Danny knelt down beside him. "So it's Simba, huh? Name's Danny…nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too."

Danny placed his hand on Simba's head and ruffled his fur. He looked back at Sarabi. "Congratulations on being a mother."

"Thanks. Simba was born a day after you disappeared, and Sarafina also gave birth to a cub a few days after that."

"Wow. I missed a lot. How long have I been gone for?"

"Seven days."

Danny thought he was only gone for three days. _Guess I was knocked out longer than I thought._ He finally remembered something. "Mufasa."

Mufasa came over to him. "Yes, what is it Danny?"

"While I was in captivity, I was imprisoned with a pride of lions. Their king showed the same compassion you had for me though he was a little suspicious at first. Half of them were separated from the rest of their pride and I freed them during my escape. I had told him previously that I had been accepted into your pride shortly before my capture. The king told me that whatever pride I belonged to, he would give his allegiance to them."

Mufasa was amazed at the events and what Danny had done. "Really?"

Danny smiled. "Yes. I brought him and his pride with me to discuss things and then they would be on their way." He turned around and whistled. Coming out were Jabari and Alijiah, followed by Malka and the rest of the pride. At first, the lionesses of Mufasa's pride weren't expecting this, and responded with defensive positions and growls. Before things escalated, Danny waved it down. "Easy, easy." He introduced the two kings. "Mufasa, king of Pride Rock and ruler of the Pride Lands, meet Jabari, king of the Shore Pride and ruler of the Tropic Lands."

"A pleasure to meet you, King Mufasa." Jabari said as he bowed low with respect. His lionesses did the same.

"And you also, King Jabari," Mufasa replied. He, too, bowed low with respect. His lionesses followed suit. "So, Danny says you will pledge mutual allegiance to myself and my pride?"

"That is true. Because Danny saved our lives, we are indebted to him for the rest of our lives. If you or he needs help, we will be ready to help." Jabari pointed with his paw to the east. "Our shore is a day's travel from here, between another pride just over the mountain. If you need us, just ask. Our loyalty is primarily to Danny, but since you are his king, that loyalty will also be transferred over to you."

Mufasa looked over towards Danny. _After only a few days as a member of our pride, he was won another over. I wonder how well of a leader he could be._ He returned his gaze to Jabari. "Well, then. From this point on, our prides will consider each other brothers and sisters from this point on." He and Jabari bumped their heads against each other as a pledge sign. The lionesses roared in approval.

Danny watched on in amazement. He never felt so emotional before since losing his parents, but this was one of the greatest achievements in his mind: bringing two peoples together. After the roaring was done, Danny was the first to speak. "Now that we are one pride, so to speak, can we go inside the cave? It's cold, and I think it's time for us to sleep." They all began to head down to the cave, but Danny held back Mufasa. "Could I speak to you up here for a moment?"

"Sure." Mufasa waited until the pride headed down for the cave. He turned to Danny. "What's on your mind?"

"There's a cub among Jabari's people who's not one of theirs. He was from another pride. His name is Malka, the cub with the black tufted ears." Danny could see Mufasa knew what he was going to ask. "He's like a little brother to me. Could he please stay with us at least until we find his pride?"

"And if we can't?"

"We could keep him as a member of our pride."

Mufasa's face remained iron rigid. "That's a very bold request given the fact that I have a son to raise up as the future prince."

"I understand that and respect it. If that ends up as the case, I will watch after him and teach him what I know."

Mufasa thought it over, and Danny hoped he would say yes. Mufasa smiled. "Alright, he may stay here. I will send Zazu out to find his pride. I know of a pride over the mountain on the way to the shores. If Jabari and his pride head that way, Zazu will accompany them until they reach that pride."

"Thank you, Mufasa. I greatly appreciate this."

"However, tomorrow I want him to play with Simba and Sarafina's daughter Nala. Two lionesses will accompany them just for safety purposes. Before you ask, Sarabi and Sarafina are now ready to take part in the hunts. Zira had led the hunting party in Sarabi's absence."

Danny was stunned. "You let Zira lead the parties?"

"She is second best of the lionesses to Sarabi. I told you before she and Scar have their contributions to the pride."

The boy shrugged. "Okay, but what does this have to do with me?"

"The lionesses want to see if you could be some help in a hunt for food. You might provide a new dimension to our hunting."

"Alright. I guess that means I need to be in good shape for that." He shivered and rubbed his arms. "But it's getting colder and I'm tired. Let's get some sleep." The two of them headed down for the cave. Mufasa went to the plateau that rose a little bit above the ground. He laid down next to Sarabi and Simba and fell asleep. Jabari and his pride slept in a tight group near Mufasa's lionesses. Danny opened up a sleeping bag and pillow that he grabbed from his ship and set it up in between the two groups. Malka once again, sat down next to him and fell asleep. Danny pulled the cub into the sleeping bag to keep him warm and zipped up the bag. Lying down on his belly, Danny rested his head on his pillow and fell asleep.


	5. The Hunt and Reunion

Chapter 5-The Hunt and Reunion

The next day, Jabari, Alijiah, and the rest of the Shore Pride gave their farewells to everyone, especially Danny. Soon, they were on their way with Zazu accompanying them. They were heading in the direction of the mountain Mufasa had mentioned and went with them to see if they were missing a cub. Mufasa sent Simba, Malka, and Nala with two lionesses to play on the east side of the Pride Rock. Simba obviously wasn't too fond of being a babysitter, especially with Malka already talking smack to him. Danny was just as surprised since he had never seen him act like this, but dismissed it as trying to impress the cubs.

Danny came out of his ship with an M4 Assault Rifle with a 4x scope. He also sported an M9 pistol. He only carried one M4 magazine with two M9 magazines. It wasn't like he was going up against a dozen Army Rangers. He also had a canteen of water and a monocular. For clothes, he wore a desert digital camouflage uniform. His father got him every combat uniform to try out in case Danny joined the armed services. But that was before his family went missing.

He walked down to the cave, but no one was there. He walked down to the bottom and found the hunting party waiting for him. Immediately, he received curious looks. Sarabi looked at his weapons. "What are those?"

Danny patted his M4. "They are my hunting tools and weapons. Since you have an advantage over me in speed and strength, I need some advantages of my own."

Zira scoffed. "What good could those things do?"

Danny gave her a wink and a smile, which left her dumbfounded. "Just wait and see, Zira."

"Hey, wait a second…" Everyone turned to the young cub, Malka. Suddenly, he began charging to a corner of the Pride Rock. Danny quickly realized that he wasn't showing off. He spotted hyenas. Danny brought his M4 up and began running toward them, with two lionesses in pursuit. Malka growled as he came near to them. "What do you hyenas think you're doing stealing from lions?"

The hyenas noticed him, but were more concerned about Danny and the two lionesses, and ran away. One lioness smiled at him. "Well done, little one. We didn't even notice them before."

Mufasa noticed this, clearly impressed. "That little cub is very brave."

Danny slung his weapon around his shoulder. "I'm surprised myself."

Only Danny heard Simba grumble, "Puh, all he saved was a pile of half-eaten bones."

Mufasa looked at his son. "Simba, I want you to stay with Malka while Zazu is out looking for his pride."

Simba was upset. "What if we never find his pride, dad?"

Mufasa looked at Danny, and back at Simba. "Then he'll stay with us forever."

To add to Simba's shocked face, Sarabi added, "And you'll have a new brother."

As Simba and Malka headed off, Mufasa left to do his morning rounds. He had to be working double time without Zazu giving the morning report. Sarabi gathered the lionesses together. Sarafina was off with her daughter, so she would be out of the hunt. Danny came into the circle of lionesses.

Sarabi organized the lionesses into three hunting parties. "Alright, I'll take the first party. Since Sarafina is out, Kamaria will lead the second party. Zira, you take the third. I'll take, Berhane, Ebere, Takiyah, and Sarama. Kamaria, you take Maisha, Dembe, Yihana, and Xolani. Zira, you will have Chinaka, Rehema, and Zainabu. Danny will come with you as an observer."

"What? No, Sarabi. I'm not a babysitter. Get someone else."

"You have the most critical duty in the hunt."

"Exactly! I don't want some puny little scrapper compromising our hunt."

"It's better he learns from you first."

Danny, though he didn't like her let alone trust her, remained humble. "If you are as sharp a hunter as I have heard, I would like to learn from the best, so I would like to learn from you."

Zira was stuck in a little pride game with Danny. She didn't like him, but it was hard when he was going out saying that she was the best. She growled. "Alright, he can go with me."

As they began to move out, the lioness Zainabu came up to him. "Hi, Danny. You can get a ride on my back."

Danny smiled at her. "Thank you, Zainabu. I appreciate it." He hopped on her back as the hunting party took off.

It gave Danny some time to think. He still missed his family but this pride of lions, that he is able to talk with, had become a family to him as well. With the exception of Zira and Scar, they had all welcomed him as one of their own. He looked forward to living and socializing with them. Though he had enough food and supplies to last him eight months to a year, he would soon have to live like one of the lions. Slowly, Danny began to wonder if maybe he should stay. As they came to an open field, Danny got off of Zainabu.

The three groups gathered around. Sarabi spoke. "Alright, there's a herd of antelope up ahead. I'll go around to the left. Kamaria, you take the right. Zira, remain here until we move the herd." The other two leaders nodded. "Alright. Remember, Danny, you're observing. Maybe, one day you can be a part of the hunt."

Danny nodded with a slight smile. "I hope so."

* * *

Sarabi and Kamaria's party split off and Zira's party waited. They lowered themselves in the tall grass. Danny got low and slowly crawled forward. Grabbing his monocular, he looked out into the field. He zoomed in on the antelope herd. They were grazing in the field, and not really paying attention to their surroundings. Danny smirked. _A fatal mistake. _He watched as Zira, Zainabu, Chinaka, and Rehema spread out, ready to attack. Danny kept quiet. He knew from school studies that if one member of the party blows their position before everyone was in position, the cost could be the food. Another thing he was learning on the go was patience. The hunt was already nearing an hour according to his watch.

He looked through the monocular again and saw the other two parties position themselves. He was surprised he didn't hear anything when they left, and even more shock that they got there so fast without even being noticed. Suddenly Sarabi and her party came up from one side while Kamaria's ambushed the opposite. The herd panicked and scrambled around. In the midst of the confusion, Zira sprinted from her position with her party making a mad dash for an antelope that found itself separated from its herd. Danny got up and ran after them.

The isolated antelope was trapped. It ran as fast as it could, but Sarabi was hot on its tail. Danny noticed that she was now right beside it, but not attacking it. That's when Zira made the move to jump on its back. She sunk her teeth into the mammal's throat, suffocating it. Instantly, the hunt was over. The lionesses gathered around the carcass.

Danny reached them as they congratulated each other. "Wow! That was amazing. You guys were great."

Sarabi smiled. "We all have to work as a team to get our food. Everything must be precise and coordinated not to mention silent. Without them, we would have a much harder time. Soon, you'll get to try to hunt with us instead of observing all the time."

Danny nodded, but something behind them caught his attention. He smiled. "Actually, I can show you how I can mix my hunting with yours."

They all looked at him with curious eyes. Sarabi arched an eyebrow. "How so?"

He walked past them with his M4 off his shoulder and in his hands. He crouched low, which told the others they should do the same. They realized had his sights set on a herd of zebras in a grassy patch. Danny turned around and they formed a circle. He began drawing in the dirt. "Okay, we're here, and the zebras are about eighty, ninety meters from us." He drew to marks representing them and the zebra herd. Danny drew another mark further to the left of the zebra herd. "Does everyone see that tree off to the left of the zebras?"

Everyone nodded. Zira narrowed her eyes. "Yeah, what's your point?"

"I can sneak around the long way and get in the tree. Meanwhile, the rest of you will form a U-shape around the opposite side of the zebras. When you see me climb the tree, wait a few minutes and jump them. That way, they will run toward me."

Kamaria looked at him quizzically. "How do you plan on killing on of the zebras?"

Danny held out his M4. "With this. It's easier to demonstrate than explain. Just send them to me and I'll take care of the rest."

Sarabi nodded. "Very well. Do you want anyone with you, Danny?"

"Just one. More for personal protection than anything."

"Ok. Kamaria, Zira, you two lead the lionesses in the formation Danny explained to you. Zira, you watch for Danny."

"Fine by me, but what are you doing?" Zira asked.

Sarabi jerked her head in Danny's direction. "I will go with him. I want to witness this up close and personal."

* * *

Sarabi had Dembe and Takiyah take the antelope carcass back for food for later while the rest headed for the left side of the zebras. They began to form a U-shape on that side and waited. Meanwhile, Danny and Sarabi were creeping their way around the other side to the tree. The sun was high in the sky and beating down on Danny. He would adjust to the blistering heat eventually, but until then, he would be feeling oven-baked for the time. Sweat was pouring from his face and he had to wipe it every few minutes. Sarabi was used to it, but even she was slowly panting from the heat.

It took about forty minutes to circle around when they reached the tree. Danny finally stood up behind it and stretched his legs and arms. Creeping on the ground for that long was a bit much for him. He pulled out his monocular and aimed it toward the zebras. _They don't seem to be aware of me. Good, and it looks like the others are in position._ He slowly pulled back the charging handle and eased it back forward. He didn't want to take the chance of the rifle making too much noise. As he began to climb up the tree, he felt something grab the tail of his camo jacket. He turned around to look at Sarabi. "Something wrong?"

"What should I do?"

"Either stay down here behind the tree to keep safe from the stampede or climb up the tree and watch what happens."

Sarabi looked up. "I think I'll watch you from the tree. I won't be able to see much from behind it."

Danny smiled. "Sounds like a plan. Uh, but cover your ears when the zebra herd gets close." He patted his rifle. "This thing is very loud." He began climbing the tree to get to where three main branches broke off individually, giving him something to sit on. As he was climbing, he saw Sarabi climb much faster with her claws extracted. She was up there in seconds. Danny gave her a mock-glare. "Show off," He whispered harshly.

He reached the point where he wanted to be. He sat on the branch that had the least incline. Danny leaned his back on the body of the tree while setting his right leg on the branch and letting his left hang freely. He aimed his M4 at the zebras. Just then, the lionesses jumped from their hiding spots, sending the herd running towards Danny. Already they were 150 meters from him. He concentrated and aimed at the most forefront zebra. He slowly aimed for its head.

Sarabi was starting to get impatient. "What are you waiting for? Kill one."

"Quiet, I need to focus." He let them get closer. He steadied his aim at the lead zebra. "Cover your ears." As it came within fifty meters of them, Danny slowly squeezed the trigger.

The loud sound echoed throughout the entire kingdom. All around, birds flew out from their trees and animals all around perked their ears up. The zebras stopped momentarily at the sound, but resumed their running when they remembered the lionesses were on their tail. All but the lead zebra. The shot went right through its head, killing it instantly. The lionesses soon surrounded the carcass. Sarabi, in spite of the fact that her ears were still ringing from the gunshot, jumped down to inspect the zebra for movement. It didn't even moan. She could hear various chatter among her pride.

"Is it dead?"

"How did it happen so fast?"

"What was that loud noise?"

She and the others turned when they heard Danny landing on the ground. He walked over to the zebra to look at it. They were all impressed, shocked, and even a little scared that Danny killed a zebra without even touching it. Looking around at each and every one of them, he said. "Now you know how I hunt. By the way, don't eat the head. I don't want anyone dying from lead poisoning."

Immediately, they started congratulating him. One of the lionesses, Chinaka, asked him, "What action do you symbolize as congratulating another?"

"A high-five," Danny answered. He held out his hand. They all looked confused. "A high-five is when someone slaps another's open palm. We do it multiple ways, but the typical one is the vertical. Chinaka, hold out your paw palm-side up." Chinaka did as she was told. Danny then slapped his hand with her paw. "Now do it to me." Chinaka, vice versa, slapped her paw down on his hand, though she slapped a little harder. Danny smiled. "See, that's how my kind congratulate each other."

Soon, all of the lionesses were high-fiving him and each other. Some vocalized their congratulations to him. Zainabu said, "That was the shortest hunt I've ever been on. We can catch multiple animals in a herd as long as Danny is with us."

Zira was still skeptical. "I still think he needs to hunt like us to prove himself."

Sarabi was now glowering at her. "Now listen, Zira. He can only…"

Danny interrupted her. "No, she's right. I do want to prove to you and myself that I can hunt just like you." He lifted his rifle. "After all, my weapons are limited. Sooner or later, I'm gonna run out. Once I learn and practice it enough, I will do it by myself." He looked down at the zebra. "But right now, I'm hungry and I'd like to enjoy this back at Pride Rock." As two lionesses picked up the carcass, the hunting party headed back to Pride Rock.

The party reached the cave with the zebra. Already Mufasa, Sarafina, Dembe, Takiyah, and some of the cubs were eating from the antelope they caught earlier. Simba and Nala, being too young for meat, needed milk from their mothers. They set the zebra down and everyone began to dig in. Danny watched them until Sarabi came out with a huge slab of meat. She set it down for him to eat and went back to eating herself. Danny cut a third of the meat off since he didn't need all that meat. He found three flat rocks and set them up like a pyramid. He grabbed a bunch of sticks and placed them underneath the top rock. He then opened a pocket and pulled out a lighter and lit the branches. Soon, he had a fire started and placed the meat on the rock, letting it cook.

As it one end turned brown, he used his knife to flip it over. Danny was surprised. Despite being here for only a week, he was beginning to adapt to the survival lifestyle, but the lack of humans let alone his real family left something to be desired. Simba and Malka shared their story of the day. Simba took Malka to play hide-and-seek but stopped when Malka's fear of being alone came out. Soon afterward, the hyenas that were chased of earlier surprised them and tried to turn the two cubs into a snack. They lost them due to their size and made it back to the lionesses watching over them.

Most of the pride had already eaten when Danny was ready to eat his share of the hunt. He had never eaten zebra before, but it tasted amazing. He knew he would run out of food supplies sooner or later. Despite having eight months worth of MRE's, military rations courtesy of his dad, he would be hunting for food like the lions he lived with now.

As he finished his meal, Malka approached him. "Hey, Danny."

Danny turned around and smiled, rested his hands behind his back as support. "Hey, Malka. You enjoying your day?"

"Yeah…" He trailed off.

Danny arched an eyebrow. "Malka?"

"Could…I mean, assuming I find my parents, could you…"

Danny's smile became lopsided. "Could I…what?"

Malka's big eyes were glowing. "Could you live with me?"

Danny felt as if he was thrown back from an explosion. Malka was asking him to live with his pride. "Live with you?"

"My dad is the king of our pride. If I tell him what you did for me, then maybe you can live with us." Malka sat on his butt right in front of Danny. "Besides, you are my big brother. Actually, you and Simba are both brothers to me."

Danny was stunned. Malka was willing to vouch to give him a place in his home. But there was a problem with this. Danny pulled Malka to him, rolling him on his back and used one hand to rub his belly while using the other to scratch his chin. "Malka, you know I would love to live with your pride. And you are my little brother, but I was already accepted into Mufasa's pride before you. So you see, I can't go with you." He saw Malka get up with a sad face. "But, I will come and visit from time to time. You can count on that."

Malka's face brightened. "Really?"

"Really really." With those words, Malka jumped on top of him, putting his paws on Danny's shoulders and licking his face. Danny wrapped him up with his arms. A set of roars from Mufasa caused Danny to let go of Malka and stand up. He looked over to the king. The lionesses, for the most part, were alert and active. Danny walked over to Mufasa. "What's going on? Why are you roaring?"

Mufasa looked at him sternly. "A foreign lion has entered our territory. I am letting them know they are on someone else's ground."

"You can tell that they're in the Pride Lands?"

"I can smell them, Danny. It's coming over there." He pointed towards a distant mountain, the direction where the Shore Pride lived.

Danny frowned. "Maybe it's one of Jabari's."

The king shook his head. "No, it's not their scent. It's someone else."

Danny grabbed his monocular from his pocket in his pants. He aimed in the direction of the mountain. At first, he didn't see anything, but movement near some trees caught his attention. He focused the lens and got a clearer picture. Heading towards them was a single lioness and Zazu. Both were coming at a decently fast pace. Danny brought his monocular down and looked at Mufasa. "Zazu is coming in with a lioness. That means that…" Danny's face filled with excitement. "He's found Malka's pride!"

Mufasa's face emulated Danny's. "That's wonderful! Now he can finally be reunited with his pride." He let out a roar of triumph.

Danny quickly headed over to Malka. "Hey, I think we've found your pride!"

Malka looked as though he was hearing things. "Are you serious!?"

"Zazu's bringing a lioness in from the mountainside. I bet you it's your mother."

The thought of seeing his mom again made him start to bound all over the place. "Yippee! Woo-hoo!"

Danny picked him up and gave him a rub on the noggin. "You're going home, little buddy. Let's go down there."

They ran down Pride Rock, with Mufasa and the rest of the pride closely behind them. Malka spotted the lioness ahead and recognized her. "Mum!" He ran faster than Danny did and made it to his mother. They both nuzzled each other for a while. Tears were streaming down Malka's face. "Mum, I missed you so much."

His mother also had tears falling out of her eyes. "Oh, my son. I thought I lost you."

Danny came up to them and Malka noticed. "Mum, this is my new brother Danny. He saved my life and gave me food and water to drink and kept me warm."

The lioness was surprised when she saw him, and natural instincts made her wary of him. But when Malka started telling about what Danny had done for him, she loosened up. "Wow, sounds like you watched over him very well."

"He's the little brother I never had. In case you were wondering, I'm a man and my name is Danny."

"I'm Jaydi, queen of the Mountain Pride and King Aren. Malka is our son. Zazu here had told us about Malka and how Danny had saved him, but it seems you two are much closer than what Zazu said. King Jabari and Queen Alijiah had similar testaments. My king and I are greatly thankful for saving our son."

Danny smiled. "You are most welcome, but I've had so much fun with him. If it is alright with you and your king, I would like permission to visit Malka freely."

Jaydi nodded. "Consider it done. I also have an even better offer for your king."

Danny turned back to Mufasa and pointed to him. "There he is."

Mufasa and Sarabi stepped forward to Jaydi. "Greetings, I am Mufasa, ruler of Pride Rock and the Pride Lands. This is my queen and mate Sarabi."

"Queen Jaydi of the Mountain Pride and Aren, my king." She bowed low in respect. Mufasa and Sarabi did the same, while Danny dropped to one knee and bowed his head. As they raised their heads, Jaydi spoke. "King Jabari came through and told us about how the man, who is now a member of your pride, freed his pride and Malka from captivity. When he mentioned Malka, we became excited and Zazu accompanied myself to Pride Rock to retrieve my son." She licked her son's head and aimed her paw at Danny. "Because of this man's bravery and selfless service, my king has decided to pledge allegiance to his pride, whether he is the ruler or not." Everyone's faces registered shock and jubilation. In only two days, Mufasa was gaining two prides as allies, and it was all because of Danny. "Now that I know who you are, I will let my king know that anyone of Mufasa's pride will be allowed refuge in time of need, warriors in time of battle, and mates as signs of continued peace between us."

Mufasa, was already losing his composure to all this good news in the last few days. "I…don't know what to say. But if King Aren has sent you as proof of his word, I accept your allegiance. Your pride will also be allowed refuge here as well."

Jaydi looked pleased. "Thank you, your Majesty. I will see to it that my king and the pride receive this wonderful news." She walked up to Danny, who was still on his knee. Her brown eyes sparkled. "Thank you, for looking after my son. It means so much to us that you took care of him when he didn't have his pride." She bowed low to him for a few moments, and then turned around. "Come on, Malka. Your father is waiting for you."

"Yes, mom." He turned to Danny. Without notice, he pounced onto Danny's chest, rubbing his head into Danny's face. "Thanks again, brother. Come visit me,"

Danny rubbed the cub's head. "Your welcome, brother…and you can count on the visiting." They let go and Malka ran after his mother.

Nala, Sarafina's cub, came up beside Danny. "It was nice to meet you, Malka."

Simba ran out in front of the pride. "Come and visit soon."

Malka turned around one last time. "Yes, I will. But maybe it would be best if Zazu or Danny came and picked me up. I don't wanna get lost again. Ha ha!" He turned around and walked off with his mother.

Danny kept on waving as they walked into the distance towards the mountain. Tears were started to run down his cheeks. It was so strange that he had felt withdrawn from other humans, and yet he felt so open and emotional with these lions. He watched until they were gone, and lowered his hand. "Goodbye, my brother…and see you later." He turned around to Mufasa and Sarabi. Both of them had proud looks on their faces.

Danny didn't say a word. He just walked over to them and hugged them both. Sarabi spoke first. "I'm so proud of you, Danny."

Mufasa smiled widely. "I'm so impressed that you would go to such ends to save and protect the ones you love with no regard for your own life. And look what it got you and I: friends and allegiances from other prides. You've done so much for my people I can't begin to thank you enough." He looked at Sarabi, who smiled and nodded.

Danny frowned, confused. "Is there something else you wanna tell me?"

Mufasa nodded. "Yes. Sarabi and I have been discussing this for a while. You've been with us for such a short time, but we have gotten really close to you." He paused. "Danny, we would like to adopt you as our son."

As if he got enough blowback offers. This was unbelievable. He blinked. "Me? Your son? A-A royal prince?" He smiled. "This is quite an honor. But what about Simba?"

"He will still be the rightful king, but you would take his place if anything occurs."

Sarabi's gentle eyes penetrated Danny. "Ever since we met you, I knew there was something special about you. It would make me happy to call you my son. Besides, I think Simba would like to have and older brother."

At the sound of this, Simba began bounding around. "Yes! Yes, please Danny. Please?"

Danny smiled at Simba's antics. "I guess I have no other choice, since Simba wouldn't have it any other way. Alright, from now on, I'm your son." As they celebrated, Danny held up a hand. "But, I still am not going to stop searching for my real family."

"We would be more than supportive for you to find them," Mufasa replied. "But right now, I need to officially announce this to the pride."

As they headed back, Danny took one last look towards the direction Malka left. His one brother was now back with his pride, and now he had another brother. With the pride Danny now called family.

Afterwards, Mufasa made the same announcement to the rest of the pride. Naturally, everybody but Scar and Zira were overjoyed to hear this. Zira remained antagonistic of Danny, but Scar gave no emotion, good or bad. This caused Danny to be even more suspicious of them, more to Scar than Zira. With Zira, he knew how she thought; she was predictable. Scar was a lot harder, making Danny very untrustworthy of him.

* * *

Danny had some fruit and meat for dinner and headed up to his ship as the sun was setting. He walked up the ramp and sat down in the lounge area, a small table and semicircle bench. A refrigerator was filled with drinks, mostly energy drinks but some water and milk. He pulled out a glass and poured some milk. He picked his glass up and headed for the cockpit. In the cockpit, there was a compartment by the door. Danny opened it and pulled out a tape recorder.

He sat down in the chair, drinking the milk as he began recording. "Hey, dad. I know it's kind of weird talking to you when you're not here. But if you or anyone gets this tape, at least there's a recording." He paused. "It's been one heck of a week. A little over a week ago, I was getting prepped to find you back home, back in a house. Now, I'm either on another planet or I'm on Earth in another time. I'm in a jungle/plains area…if I am on Earth, I think I'm in Africa. I thought I had found a human contact, but I was wrong…turned out to be a transformer. Yeah, a transformer. Like in the movies but actually real."

"I've been living with lions. Yes, I know that sounds crazy but it's true. Sometimes, I even wonder why I wasn't mauled at first sight. They can even talk to me…talk about insane delusions. However, it's not a delusion. It's all real. You know, dad, the lions who accepted me into their pride are like my surrogate family. "There's the king Mufasa, who reminds me a lot like you. The queen Sarabi has the same gentle, caring look that mom has. I don't have anyone who reminds my of Callie and Rae, but I have two little brothers now. One is Simba, the prince of the pride. I haven't known him for long, but I got a feeling we'll be very close. The other is Malka. He isn't from this pride, but he is back home with his. That is a cub who I will be forever close to for the rest of my life. He and I met in a prison and escaped. I took care of him until we found his pride. He wanted me to live with him, but I was already with these guys. At least he's close, so I can visit."

Danny finished off the rest of the glass of milk. "Dad, I'm glad you gave me all the survival training in life. I always thought it was just boy scout crap, but it paid off greatly. With limited resources, I'm gonna have to make due for now. I have friends and family here, but I won't stop searching for you. I just hope that you are still alive somewhere out there. Until I find you, I'll be living here…in the Pride Lands. This is Daniel Manning…somewhere."


	6. Proving His Worth

Chapter 6-Proving His Worth

Two months had passed. Danny continued to get to know all of the lionesses throughout his free time. He became very close to almost all of them, especially Mufasa, Sarabi, Sarafina, Zainabu, and the two cubs, Simba and Nala. Unfortunately, not everyone was rushing to get to know him, particularly Scar and Zira. They would either be with each other or when Zira was hunting, Scar would wander off alone. Danny never received friendly expressions from them. Nevertheless, he remained polite but still untrustworthy. Mostly, he would hunt with the lionesses but he went with Mufasa during his morning and evening rounds about the kingdom, more often than not.

During every morning, he formed a routine of running, pushups, and sit-ups every morning and evening. He needed to stay in shape to keep up as best as he could with the lions. Over the time, he was already losing some of his weight and size, making him less stocky and more trim. After his morning exercises, he would go to a small waterhole and shower there. He had limited shampoo and body wash, but he was glad it wasn't any fancy smelling stuff or he would attract all of the wildlife. Nobody was usually up when he did his morning routine so he wasn't bothered. But to be safe, he carried his M9 pistol with him.

As for eating, he would switch everyday between MRE packages and wild game from the hunts. Whenever Danny ate the animals, he would go out and find some fruits. That was not hard to find since they were all over the land. His drinks were mostly water, but had some other drinks from time to time. But no matter what he picked, he almost always went out to hunt with the lionesses. They were so happy he went along, usually because he made hunting so much easier. But that's why Danny didn't always go out with them, he didn't want them to be totally dependant on him.

Danny got up in the morning and went on his normal exercise routine. He carried his backpack with him this time for some extra weight to tone his run down. He was clad in running shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt. He was always up before anyone else and began to exercise. From all of the pushups and sit-ups, his arms were becoming more defined and his abs more endowed, forming a visible "six-pack". He finished his exercises and headed for the water hole.

Danny immediately took of his clothes to help cool down. He tested the temperature of the water and found it to be borderline lukewarm. He eased himself in and then went under. The boy began scrubbing his head with his shampoo and pulled out his washcloth and body wash. He soon felt fresh again, but put a hand to his face. Over the course of two weeks, his facial hair became an almost full beard. Mufasa had mentioned to him that his "mane" was growing, but Danny paid it no mind. Now it was feeling uncomfortable to him. He pulled out his razor and started shaving.

As he was halfway through, he heard some rustling in the bushes. Danny stopped shaving and grabbed his pistol. "Who's there?" He demanded. Simba and Nala came out, quite shaken. Immediately, he felt shame for scaring the two cubs and placed his weapon back in the holster. "Sorry, guys. You scared the crap out of me. What are you two doing up so early?"

"You woke us up when you dropped your backpack. We've been following you ever since," Simba replied.

"What happened to your mane?" Nala asked.

Danny realized that he wasn't done shaving. "Actually, it's a beard. And it's getting uncomfortable to me, so I'm shaving it off."

Simba frowned. "Why would you do that? I can't wait until my mane is fully grown."

"Well, it's a human thing, mainly for males. Some like full beards; I'm not one of them."

Nala shook her head. "I will never understand men."

Danny cracked up. "Yeah, sure. We'll see in a few years."

Simba looked at him funny. "Where's your skin?"

"Say what?"

"You know, the skin that keeps changing."

Danny did the math and figured he meant his clothes. He normally would feel embarrassed to be naked in front of others, but he didn't feel ashamed with these lions. "My clothes are over there by my backpack. I'm just taking a bath."

Nala frowned. "Why don't you just lick yourself like our mothers do?"

Danny suppressed a laugh. "I wish I was as flexible as you lions, but I'm not. Besides, my tongue is not that long or rough." He resumed his shaving as they began playing with each other. He finished shaving and washed his face with water. When he looked at the two cubs playing, a thought came into his mind. He tossed his razor by his backpack and went underwater.

Simba and Nala were playing for some time. Nala finally noticed Danny was missing. She had just pinned Simba for the umpteenth time, but got off of him. "Wait, where's Danny?"

Simba got up. "I don't know." As he got closer, he noticed some bubbles appeared near the edge of the waterhole. "What is that?" He and Nala crept closer.

Suddenly, Danny came out of the water with a rush of water. Both cubs screamed, but Danny managed to grab Simba. Before the cub could react, Danny pulled the cub underwater for a quick dunk. He came back up and gave Simba a noogie. Nala, who just recovered from the surprise, was now laughing. Danny laughed as well. "I gotcha, Simba."

Simba, who was having fun, struggled to get out of his grip. "Let me go."

Danny's smile widened. "Whatever you say." He tossed him into the water. Simba came up and immediately swam to shore. He shook the water out of his fur, causing his fur to puff up.

Nala giggled. "Nice look, fuzz face."

Simba smirked. "Nice look _this_." He pounced on her, but she once again pinned him.

Danny smiled as he put his clothes on. He could see how close they were as friends, and he could see something special between them a few years from now. He also could tell Nala would be a great huntress. She had great teachers in Sarabi and her mother Sarafina, so it was Nala's skill to lose. As he approached them, he smiled. "You guys are so much fun to be around."

"And you give us another person to have fun with."

Danny made a mock bow. "Glad to be of service. Oh yeah, before I forget…" He tapped Nala. "Tag! You're it." Immediately, he and Simba ran off into the brush.

Nala was taken off guard. "Hey! No fair!" She took off after them. She soon caught up to Simba and smacked her paw on his back. "You're it."

Simba looked for Danny and found him hiding behind a rock very poorly. Simba ran after him. Seizing the moment, he jumped in the air. "I got ya." Danny ducked and rolled to his side. Simba landed on his feet and turned around for Danny. The boy was getting up and starting to run. Simba was hot on his heels and finally managed to swipe his claw. "Now, I gotcha. You're it."

Before either one could move, movement in the brushes caught their attention. Nala noticed they were not playing and came up to them. Danny pulled out his pistol and flipped the safety switch off. He aimed at the brush. "Show yourself."

Scar came out from the brush. He was unnerving enough with a straight face, but with his smile, he was creepy. "Good morning my young princes. Why are you up so early and so…alone?"

That last word sent a chill down Danny's spine. Simba didn't seem bothered. "Hey, Uncle Scar."

Danny narrowed his eyes. "First off, we're not alone. We have each other. Second, I'm on my morning exercise routine. What brings you here, Scar?"

The lion smiled. "I'm on a morning routine of my own. In fact, I must be going."

"Where would that be?"

"Sorry, but that's my own business." Scar walked in the direction of the geyser crevice. "You enjoy your day, my princes."

As Scar walked away, Danny shook his head. Scar seldom spoke to him and when he did, his tone always kept Danny edgy. Simba looked at Scar and back up at Danny. "I wonder where he's going."

Danny nodded. "You and me both, pal. There's something about him…ah, never mind."

Nala was a little ways off. "Hey, let's go back to Pride Rock."

They headed back to Pride Rock. The sun was almost fully risen as they made it back. Already, herds were up and about, already grazing. The trio reached the top of Pride Rock.

The rest of the pride were coming out from the cave. Mufasa yawned a silent roar. Sarabi saw Danny with Simba and Nala, and smiled. It was clear that she loved to see them enjoying each other. Zira, for once, was smiling. And like Scar's, it was creepy. Danny privately wondered why they were smiling this morning.

Mufasa looked at them. "Alright, I'll be here until Zazu comes in with the morning report. Danny, will you be joining me?"

Danny shook his head. "No, I think I'll be joining the lionesses on the hunt. Afterward, I have some things I need to do around the borders. I'll tell you in a moment about that."

Mufasa nodded to him, and then addressed the pride. "Has anyone seen Scar?" None of the lionesses answered.

Danny spoke up. "I saw him not too long ago. Heading somewhere toward the borders."

"Did he tell you what he was doing out there?"

"Nah, he's not easy to give a straight answer."

"Oh, well. If there's nothing else, we've got a day ahead of us. Let's get moving." Mufasa turned. "Danny, you wanted to tell me something?"

Danny nodded and trotted over to him. "Yes, I did. After the hunt, I plan to help set up a security perimeter."

"Why? Everything's perfectly fine here."

"Remember what I told you about Dasyu?" Mufasa nodded in response to Danny's question. "Well, I would like to set up sentry cameras. Just in case Dasyu or someone who is unwelcome comes looking for trouble. I will have them scanning for movement. If detected, I will investigate if I deem it necessary. I have about forty cameras."

Mufasa frowned. "What are these cameras you speak about?"

Danny remembered this was a lion he was talking to. "Cameras are devices that observe what goes on out there. With cameras, I can see what goes on along the borders from Pride Rock."

"How will you set them up? And how are you gonna do it in one day?"

Danny shrugged. "I'll hop on my speeder bike and set them up. I'll put twenty along the border of the Pride Lands, ten in random locations in the land, and ten surrounding and on Pride Rock. My ship can regulate power to the cameras."

Mufasa considered this. "If you feel it is best, then do so. It might help us be more prepared for any encounters."

"I'll do as soon as the hunt is over. Please keep this between the two of us. Just for added security."

"Very well. The lionesses are waiting for you. You better get going."

Danny nodded and headed over to them. They had all organized into three parties. Kamaria turned to him. "Hey, Danny. You're going to be with me. Are you going to bring your…what was it?"

Danny smiled. "No, I'm not bringing my rifle." He pulled off his holstered pistol and set it in his backpack. "In fact, I'm not bringing even bringing my pistol." They all turned at his last statement. "I've been studying from all of you for some time, and on this hunt I want to hunt like you hunt."

This surprised everyone. Zira snorted. "Fat chance. You can barely keep up with us, let alone catch some food."

Danny looked at her coolly. "As much as speed helps, technique is more important."

Sarafina, who was bringing Nala along with her, looked him seriously. "Are you sure? You don't have claws like we do."

Danny produced a sharp, ka-bar knife from his pocket. "This is my claw, but I have to get next to an animal to use it unlike my other weapons."

Sarabi said, "Why do you want to do this?"

"Because I want to be just like you, so that I can say that while I am a man, I have the heart of a lion. I want to prove myself to all of you and earn my place as a member of this pride."

Sarabi smiled. "Well then, hop on my back and let's go."

They took off for the distant part of the Pride Lands. It wasn't long before they found their target: a lonely, fat antelope grazing in the grass. All three parties spread out, with Sarabi and Zira's parties circling around the prey. Danny waited with Kamaria, Zainabu, Chinaka, and Sarafina. Nala also crouched down, but curiosity caused her to lift her head so she could she. Danny was very nervous; he needed to calm himself down so he began breathing in with his nose and out with his mouth. It worked tremendously, and he was calm in minutes.

And just in time too, for as soon as he did, Zira and Sarabi's groups jumped out. The antelope began running in Danny's direction. Sarabi kept the antelope from drifting to far away from Danny, and he took his opportunity. He got up and began running up to full speed. His timing was a little off, and the antelope was now at his side and pulling away. He gave all he could but his lungs were burning from the heavy sprint. With one last great effort, he dove forward. He grabbed the rear leg of the antelope before it clobbered Danny's face. He twisted as he fell, causing the antelope to fall to the ground.

_Now's my chance!_ Danny quickly recovered. As the antelope got up, Danny jumped on his back. He used his left hand to hold onto one of the antelope's two horns. With his right hand, he pulled out his knife. The antelope tried frantically to knock him off like a bucking bronco, but it did no good. Danny's weight was already holding it down as it was. Danny plunged the knife into the beast's neck. Blood gushed out of the wound and the antelope let out a cry. Ending the hunt quickly, the boy brought the knife across the animal's throat and sliced it. The antelope thrashed about and finally dipped under. Danny, not wanting to get speared by one of the horns, pressed his body down on the antelope as it fell and hit the ground hard. The two rolled for a few feet and stopped with the antelope on top of him.

The lionesses all came up to the scene. All they saw was the antelope. Nala inched forward, afraid of the worst. "Danny?"

Sarabi was also concerned. She was amazed at how Danny tackled the antelope and then jumped on it. Now her only concern was his safety. _Please be okay._

Suddenly, they saw movement. The antelope's body moved. The hunting party, thinking their prey was still alive prepared to pounce on it, but before they did, Danny's hand came out from underneath the body. Soon, they all saw him crawl his way out from underneath the carcass. As he came up, he gave them a crazed smile. "Whee!"

He was greeted by Sarafina and Zainabu knocking him to the ground and licking him. Despite the roughness of their tongues, Danny laughed playfully and scratched their necks. Even Nala came up and started licking him and purring, happy that he was unhurt. Danny tried to get up, but they were all over him. He was so happy, being with ones who loved him, even though they were animals. "Okay, girls. I'm fine, so can I get up now?" They backed off, allowing him to get up.

He came up straight into the face of Zira. Unlike her moody, pessimistic look, her expression was actually neutral. The question she said next shocked him. "So you're okay?"

Danny didn't really no what to say. Maybe she was coming around. "Uh, yeah. I'm fine. A couple cuts and bruises but nothing serious."

Sarafina was impressed. "My, my, Zira. It seems you're being nice to him."

Zira began to turn around and walk back to Pride Rock. As she did, she said, "He's valuable as a hunter. We need him."

As she walked away, Danny couldn't help but smile. All the other lionesses did the same. But that smile of his disappeared. She never said she liked him, only that he had some use. It was a start, but there seemed to be something going on behind her, something hidden. He would discuss things later. Right now, he had his own things to worry about. Kamaria and Zainabu gathered up the antelope and they headed back. Pride swelled inside Danny. He had just made his first kill without using his rifle or pistol. He did it the hard way by killing the antelope like the lions. Now, he finally felt he achieved his place among the pride.

They made it back to the pride and began feasting on the food. Danny, since he was the one who killed it, was allowed to take the first piece. He cut out a piece of the antelope's thigh and let the others dig in. Danny decided to stay and cook his food. After they all had eaten, the pride went back into the cave for the afternoon to nap. Danny went into the _**Paratus Preliator**_ to grab twenty sentry cameras. They all were started out as metal cubes but when activated, unfolded into a camera with a compound lens with a telescoping stand. All he had to do was dig a small hole and place the box in it. He was able to put them in the cargo container in the back of his bike and turned it on. The bike hummed but Danny didn't want to ride down because he didn't want to wake up the pride. He pushed the bike down to the bottom of Pride Rock. From there, he got on and took off for the borders.

* * *

The first place was the acacia tree where his ship crash-landed. He dug a hole in front of the tree facing away from the Pride Lands and placed the box in it. His next stop was the tree brush where Malka's mother had come from. According to his map, it was two miles away. On his way there, he placed four sentries in a quarter-circle, each evenly spaced every 880 yards. He reached his destination and placed the next sentry in.

His third location was on the rear side of Pride Rock, the opposite side of the first sentry point. After making four stops to place sentries, he reached the third point. The border was marked by a waterhole surrounded with brush. Danny placed it at the edge of the brush. If he were doing this on foot, this would've taken a couple days for just the outside perimeter alone. With the bike, he was getting the job done in only a couple of hours. The wind also kept the heat from getting to him too much. He placed four more sentries on the way to his fourth and final point: a waterfall overlooking a huge piece of real estate. This provided a huge vantage point since his sentry cameras had compound lenses. He dug it near the edge of the cliff and headed out. He placed the last four sentries before reaching the first sentry point.

Danny turned around and headed back for Pride Rock. By the time he reached there, it was about four in the afternoon. He came up to the cave to see if the pride was up and about. They were still sleeping, so he didn't bother them. He learned a couple things about lion etiquette. There were four basic rules, two to sleeping. One: don't irritate them while they're sleeping unless they invite you over to tickle them. Two: Don't frighten them. If you do come near, make yourself known by voice. If you don't, they're more likely to attack out of reaction. Three: Don't ever, ever come close to them when they're eating because that's a surefire way to get your head taken off. Four: When they say they've had enough, they don't like saying it twice. Danny found a lot of this out in just the first week of being back from captivity.

He pushed the bike all the way back up to the_** Preliator**_. Once back inside the ship, he turned on his joint nodal network system. It was a multi-screen system that would have all the sentries on little screens. If anything came with in sensors range, the light above the screen would start blinking, and Danny could pull it up on the main screen by pushing the light, as its second function was a button. Before he could see if they were operational, Danny needed to run a radar sweep. The radar would map out the surrounding area up to a twenty mile radius in landscape but would only pick up as far as the sentries could, which was only about 1500 yards. He ran it and the radar sent out a few pinging noises before a map was layered out before him. Yellow dots indicated the sentries. On the multi-screen set, twenty lit up and presented a different view of the land. Danny let out a sigh. His job for the day was done.

He grabbed an MRE and went outside. Danny brought his water canteen and began heating the entrée, pasta with meat sauce, with the heater bag. As he was eating, he heard movement behind him. He grabbed his pistol and flipped the safety off.

He loosened up when he heard Mufasa's voice. "Do you mind if I join you?"

Danny smiled. "No, not all. You wouldn't feel offended if I don't call you 'Your Majesty'?"

Mufasa laughed. "No, only Zazu and others outside of our pride need to do so. Your are part of the pride now. How did setting up your…cameras go?"

"It went well. To be honest, if I didn't have my speeder bike, this would've taken a lot longer."

"That's wonderful news." He paused. "Can I ask you something?"

"Fire away," Danny replied.

"What do you think of being a leader and being a father?"

Danny thought about this. It was a good question, but not one that was on his mind. He wasn't planning on being a father anytime soon, at least not biologically. "I'd say…being good at one makes you better at the other. But, vice versa, if you lack either one, you lack both."

Mufasa seemed to understand, but his face looked like he needed clarification. "What do you mean?"

"If you raise your children well, then you have shown that you can raise and lead a people well. But, if you can't even raise your children right, how can you be expected to lead others? And in your case, how are your children going to be expected to lead when you step down?" He wondered why he was asking this. "Is this about you and Simba?"

Surprisingly, Mufasa shook his head. "No, this is about me and Scar."

Danny was taken aback by this. "Why the two of you?"

Mufasa sighed. "I think it's time I told you about how we grew up." He looked out to the sky. "I was firstborn to King Ahadi and Queen Uru, my father and mother. Sometime later, my mother gave birth to Taka. My father saw some bad qualities in Taka so he chose me as the future king. At first, Taka had no problems with it and congratulated me. But as we got older, tension arose between us. The fact that our father always was training me to be king but not paying much attention to Taka didn't help. But my mother made up for that by caring for him. She was always helping him and instructing him as best as possible. But my father played favorites between the two of us, since he didn't like what he saw in Taka, he focused on training me and not him."

Danny paid attention, but things were already sounding bad. Mufasa continued. "When we reached adolescence, I fell in love with Sarabi. Problem was, Taka loved her as well. Ahadi had Sarabi and I pledged to be betrothed, but Taka got involved."

Danny frowned. "Okay, but what does this have to do with Scar?"

Mufasa looked at him sadly. "Danny…Taka is Scar." All of a sudden, pieces of the puzzle were coming together for Danny as the king finished the story. "Taka argued about Sarabi, but my father, in his anger, swiped Taka. It left a scar over his left eye, and he was known as Scar from that point on. Though cared by our mother, Scar grew up isolated from others. Sometimes, I would see him crying."

Danny stared at him, openmouthed. "That's terrible. So basically what are you asking me?"

"I'm asking what you think of my father's ways of raising us."

Danny looked down. "You don't want to know my answer."

Mufasa closed his eyes for a few moments. "No, Danny. I do."

Danny already had the answer and looked up at him. "I'd say shame on your father for showing favoritism. He should've paid equal attention to both of you, and shown equal love as well. Because of this, Scar is now set like this barring a cataclysmic event…and swiping your own child? C'mon! That was totally unnecessary; that could've been handled with a simple discussion. And say something were to happen to you before Simba came into this world. Scar would have to rule and he's not trained for being king. Your father should've trained both of you at the same time. Instead of shunning Scar because of his bad qualities, Ahadi should've worked to change them. Your mother, it seems did well in raising both of you. I'm starting to understand Scar a little bit more…I even feel sorry for him."

Mufasa nodded. "I was coming to the same terms myself. I just wanted to confirm it. Because if Sarabi and I have another cub, I don't want to make the same mistakes my father had."

Danny smiled at him. "Mufasa, I look at you like a second father to me, and I show you the same love I had for my real father. I think you are a great leader because you love your people and family. You treat each and every one of them equally and with respect. You will make a great father to Simba, and hence, a great leader to your people."

Mufasa smiled and pulled Danny into a hug. "Thank you, my son. Your wisdom belies your age."

"I had a great teacher in my father. He used to be a soldier in his day, so he taught me a lot of things from his experience." Something else popped in his mind. "What's Zira's story?"

Mufasa's grin faded. "That's a similar story to Scar's. She was something of an outcast. Sarabi and Sarafina didn't really play and socialize with her, I think for the same reasons my father had with Scar. She soon ostracized herself from the others, except Scar because they had similar lifestyles. Zira spent time with him and when she didn't, she focused on honing her hunting skills. That's why she's one of, if not the best huntress we have. I suspect that the years of loneliness have formed a hard shell around her heart, but if something's not done, she may be lost forever."

Danny began to understand a little more about both of them. Maybe, there would be some hope for them. "I'm glad you told me this, and I understand why you've shown compassion to them. I still don't fully trust them, but I understand a little better."

Mufasa stood up. "Do have any advice on how I should prepare Simba? I know what I have to do, but any advice would be helpful."

Danny searched for the right words. "I would start training right away, like tomorrow. Show Simba the entire kingdom, begin explaining the rudimentary training on being a king and leader."

"That sounds like a good idea. How would you describe a leader?"

Again, Danny had to search for the right description and only one came up. "A leader is the ultimate servant, the ultimate shepherd. A leader is the ultimate servant because he has to care for his people, help solve their problems, defend them from harm, and caring for the needs, not wants, of his people. The people, in a sense, are free because they only have to worry about one thing: pleasing the leader. That includes respect, giving assistance whenever possible, and complete assignments given to them by the leader. It's a symbiotic relationship that has to be kept on both sides. If the leader doesn't do his job, how are the servants expected to respect and follow him. Vice versa, if the servants don't do their job, why should the leader be expected to help them?" He looked Mufasa straight in the eye. "The leader is also a shepherd because he watches over his people and defends them from harm. That is what I think of a leader."

Mufasa's expression was shocked. He had never expected to hear something like this from someone so young. He grinned proudly. "I wish I could've met your father. He definitely trained you well. I myself am proud to call you my son. I think you will make a great teacher and older brother not just to Simba, but to all of the cubs."

Danny smiled. "I wish you could meet my father as well. I still will be searching for him while I'm here, because I believe he is still alive somewhere. When I do find him, you both will meet."

Mufasa smiled. "On another matter, Simba and Nala and the other cubs want to play hide-and-seek with you. They just woke up from their naps."

Danny snapped his fingers. "Oh that reminds me, I have something for them." He ran back inside the ship. A few minutes later, he came out with a spike-tipped pole. Attached to it was a rope and a ball. "This should keep them interested. This is a tetherball. Basically, I plant the pole into the ground and either let the cubs swat at the ball or I spin it and watch them try to catch it. I made this with some of the stuff in my ship."

Mufasa smirked. "That should be fun for them. I think they will definitely enjoy that."

Danny and Mufasa walked down to the cave. Simba, Nala, and a few others were waiting for Danny to come down. Simba noticed the tetherball in his hands. "Danny, what's that?"

"It's a tetherball. I'll show you how to use it." He and the cubs went to the bottom of Pride Rock. Danny drove the pole into the ground and turned to the cubs. There were so many, and he needed to get their names down. "Okay, I need to you line up in a straight line. I need to get names and match them together." The cubs obeyed and formed a straight line, starting with Simba and Nala. "Now I know Simba and Nala, so let me get the other names."

The first was a male cub with fur lighter than Nala's and green eyes. "I'm Mheetu."

Danny nodded and moved to the beige lioness with a fur tuft on her head. "My name's Tama."

The chocolate-furred lion cub smiled. "Chumvi."

A light brown lioness cub with hazel eyes sat close to Chumvi. "I'm Chumvi's sister, Kula."

Danny gave his greetings to all of them. He finally came to the last one. This one looked a lot like Simba, only he had slightly darker fur and blue eyes, a rarity for lions. He also had two little birds near him. He gave a cocky smirk. "I'm Tojo. That's my name, don't wear it out."

Danny chuckled. "Great, this one's going to be a lady's man. Alright, at least I got the name's down." He looked at all of them, each one eager to play. "What I have here is a tetherball. We'll play hide-and-seek later. The game is simple: Go for the ball."

He stood back and watched them. Simba and Tojo went for the ball first. They swatted it back and forth, and soon, all of the cubs were hooked on the tetherball. At times, Danny would pick the ball up and spin it around the pole. The cubs watched it go round and round and tried jumping for the ball. They kept this up for about half and hour before they got tired of it. Danny agreed playing hide-and-seek would be fun. They went off and spent the rest of the time playing while the sun was still up. Soon, it grew dark and they all headed back to Pride Rock for some sleep. Just before Danny went in, it started to rain heavily.


	7. Trouble on the Horizon

Chapter 7-Trouble on the Horizon

Danny woke up early again and went on his normal exercise routine. Afterwards, he took a bath and headed back for Pride Rock. He was coming up to the cave when a cub came running out to view the sunrise. He looked very excited and was about to go back inside when he saw Danny. The boy realized it was Simba. "Hey, Simba. What are you doing up so early? And all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed?"

Simba frowned. "Huh?" He looked back at his tail. "My tail's not bushy."

Danny laughed. "It's a figure of speech. I'm basically asking why are you so excited?"

Simba understood by the look on his face. "Oh. My dad promised to show me the whole kingdom starting at sunrise. In fact, I gotta go wake him up."

"Uh, I think you should be careful about that. He may not take kindly to being woken up." But he was wasting his breath. The young cub had already gone into the cave. Danny carefully walked into the cave to see Simba jumping in between sleeping lionesses and cubs to get to his dad. Simba accidentally landed on a few lionesses, followed by the "sorry's" and "excuse me's".

Danny watched Simba as he reached his dad. "Dad! C'mon, dad. We gotta go. Dad, dad, dad, dad…"

As Danny watched, he heard Sarabi say. "Ugh, your son is awake." He could see a smile played out on her mouth.

Mufasa leaned next to her. "Before sunrise, he's your son." Danny laughed when he heard this, but kept it silent. He didn't want to wake the pride.

Simba grabbed his father's ear and tugged. He lost his grip and came tumbling backwards, grunting the whole time. The cub got back up and charged his father, head butting Mufasa in the side of his head. "Dad, you promised."

Mufasa looked at his son. Simba was glaring at him. Mufasa nodded. "Okay, okay. I'm up, I'm up." Simba cheered. Mufasa yawned, which sounded like more like a silent roar to Danny. Simba and Mufasa headed out, followed by Sarabi. Danny walked out after them out to the midpoint of Pride Rock. Mufasa was on his way up to the summit when he turned around. "Danny, will you be coming with us?"

"No, I have to finish what I started yesterday," Danny said, winking to Mufasa.

Mufasa understood what he meant and nodded. "Alright, I will see you later. Let's go Simba." Sarabi nudged her son forward, and he joyfully followed his father up the slope.

Sarabi smiled as she watched them disappear out of their sight. She turned to Danny. "So, I take it you're not coming on the hunt today?"

Danny shook his head. "No, I need to set up some things. Maybe tomorrow."

"Alright. Be careful with what you're doing."

Danny began walking to the other side of the summit. He stopped and came down on one knee in front of her face. His smile always seemed to give a great effect on Sarabi, and her smile showed. "I'm always careful." He gave her a hug and headed up for his ship.

Danny saw Mufasa and Simba looking at the sunrise. He couldn't hear them, but he knew what was going on. He walked inside the _**Paratus Preliator**_ and grabbed ten sentries. He placed them in the speeder bike's cargo container and hopped on. His first destination was the south point behind Pride Rock. He would then hit the west and east internal points, and finish with the north internal by the geyser crevice. Danny powered up the speeder bike and took off.

* * *

Danny started according to his map that he had in his computer. He brought it along with him to help position the sentries correctly. According to the map, they would be placed in between the outside sentries that were in between the main points, and about a half mile back. On the map, the dots could be connected by lines, forming a triangle for each internal camera with every external camera. He began his mission on the west point and worked his way through each of them. They were all placed perfectly and in hard-to-see spots.

His last one was set overlooking the geyser crevice. Being finished with the second of three objectives, he decided to take a break and have lunch. Having another MRE, jambalaya, he sat down and cooked his meal. It was delicious, eating the spicy combination of ham and shrimp. As Danny finished up, he looked around the land. He finally had a chance to look at the place peacefully. It was beautiful, seeing the antelope leaping across the grass in a group to watching the birds fly around. He sighed. "Dad, I wish you were here. I don't want to assume the worst, but if you, mom, and the girls are dead, why did I get to live?"

"Beats me, buddy. But we'll be happy to put you out of your misery."

Immediately, Danny got up and whipped out his pistol. He turned around to face nine spotted creatures. _Hyenas!_ He remembered what Mufasa said about them, but only just remembered that they lived in the geyser crevice. The hyenas seemed to be laughing. Four of them stepped forward. One of them, a female spoke. "So this is the human the boss talked about. What do you think of him, Bonzai?"

The male hyena next to her, chuckled. "Looks like a good-sized piece of meat to me, Shenzei. Do you agree, Ed?"

The third hyena, who had a crazed look, just laughed maniacally. The fourth stepped out in front of all of them. "Here's what I think. The boss gave us orders to kill him, so let's dine on some meat right now." He howled. The five hyenas in the back came forward and surrounded Danny.

Danny slowly pulled out his knife and held it in his right hand. "Try me." He flipped the safety off of his switch as he noticed a gopher pop out of the ground and observed them for a second, before going back underground.

* * *

Sarabi and Zira both tackled the wildebeest to the ground. It put up a good fight but Zira was on its back, weighing it down while Sarabi her jaws locked in the wildebeest's neck, suffocating it. The other lionesses came up and surrounded the prey to keep it from going anywhere. Since Danny was out, they had to do things the normal way. It was a good thing Danny didn't help them everyday, or they would lose their hunting edge. The wildebeest finally dropped to the ground and ceased breathing.

Zira smiled. "Another day, another prey. We got food now."

Kamaria nodded. "It's a shame Danny didn't come along."

Sarabi interjected. "Danny mentioned that he had some things to do. I can't imagine how hard it is to adjust to living like this. For us, it's normal but not for him."

"Me neither. If you were in his world of living, how would you feel?" Sarafina asked.

"Good question. I wonder if…" Sarabi didn't even finish as her ears perked up. A noise caught her attention. It was a gunshot. Sarabi was about to dismiss it as Danny catching some animal for food when two quick shots followed it. Now she knew he was defending himself. It only took one shot from his weapons to kill an animal, and he didn't have an appetite as big as the lions. He was being attacked. A few sniffs and she recognized the scent instantly: hyenas. She turned to the hunting party. "Sarafina, Zainabu, Kamaria, you're with me. Zira, take the rest of the party back with the wildebeest. Danny is in trouble and he may need our help." The four took off in the direction of the gunshots.

* * *

The first hyena that jumped at Danny was from his left. Danny fired his pistol. The shot hit the hyena square in the head, killing it instantly. The others saw this and hesitated. It was enough for Danny to take two quick shots at the ones behind him. One took a shot in the stomach while the other took it to the neck. The first one died in moments while the other hyena thrashed about until it fell down; its only movements were muscle spasms. The fourth hyena jumped him with his back turned to him. Danny spun around and sliced its throat with his knife.

The fifth managed to get on his back and swipe him. The pain in the man's back was searing, but he used the hyenas momentum to throw him forward. The hyena hit the ground and got back up to jump him again. But he never got the chance. The bullet from Danny's pistol hit him right in the rear left leg, wounding him. Foolishly, the hyena charged. Danny sidestepped and slashed the front left leg, causing the hyena to fall over. Danny quickly kicked it in the head and brought his knife down. It went straight through his skull, killing the hyena. Danny stood back up and faced them, blood splatter was on his face.

The leader nodded. "Okay, I guess I'll have to finish the job myself." He began to stalk him. Danny tossed his pistol down and held his knife at the ready. As Danny's back turned to the other three, the leader said, "Get him now!"

Before Shenzei, Bonzai, and Ed could react, out of the bushes jumped Mufasa. His huge roar deafening all ears as he began attacking the trio. Danny was distracted by this, and the hyena leader took advantage of it. He tackled Danny to the ground. Wasting no time, he slashed at Danny's chest, causing even more pain. He then locked his jaw down on Danny's shoulder. Danny screamed from the pain. "Screw you!" Danny brought his feet underneath the hyena and kicked him over his head and slowly got up.

The hyena was much faster and tackled Danny again. This time, the hyena pressed his paw down on Danny's arm that was holding his knife. The hyena was already slobbering. "Any last words?"

Danny smirked. "Yeah, where do you want it? Stomach or chest?" The hyena frowned at the question. Danny shook his free arm, and a knife hidden in his sleeve slipped down into his hand. He drove the knife into the hyena's stomach. The hyena howled in pain. And backed off of him. Danny, with an adrenaline rush, quickly got up. Finding the target on the hyena, Danny jumped on top of the hyena. He drove his ka-bar knife into the animal's spine, severing it. The hyena fell down, paralyzed. Danny slowly got up and rolled the hyena on his back. He grabbed the hyena by the head and brought him up to his face. The hyena's expression was full of fear and pain. "You made a big mistake, challenging me with weapons. Now you'll pay the price." With that, Danny drove his knife into the animal's throat.

Mufasa scared off the three hyenas when he turned around and saw what had happened. He was amazed that a young boy, full of wisdom and love, could turn cold and ruthless in battle against his enemies. What's more, his attacks were precise. Not only was he a wise young man, but he was also an excellent fighter. "Danny, I…I'm at a loss for words. How did you go from nice and loving to cold and vicious?"

Danny removed the knife from the hyena's throat and wiped the blood off on his pants. "When I'm at peace, I am one of the nicest guys ever. But when I'm fighting, I fight to defend others from harm or myself. When that happens, my emotions are iced. To my friends and family, I'm a brave protector. To the enemy, I'm a cold-blooded killer. I'm sorry you had to witness that."

"No, it's perfectly alright. If I were in your position, I'd do the same."

"The reasons for why I'm so cold in combat is my unconfirmed dead parents and my years of combat training."

"Understandable."

"How did you know what was going on? I thought you were with Simba?"

"I was. I was in the middle of…teaching him on how to pounce. That's when Zazu received a message of hyenas in the Pride Lands from our underground intelligence. One of the gophers. The gunshots also helped direct me to your position. With that…wait a minute. Is that…?" Mufasa inspected the hyena Danny had just kill. Using his paw, he pulled the face to examine it. "It is! It's Ravage."

Danny looked confused. "Did I do something wrong?"

Mufasa turned with a smile. "No, it's actually the opposite. You just killed the leader of the hyena clan, and with just your knife. No lion has been able to take him on unless they're in a group, but he's usually to smart to fight then. He has been a thorn in our side for longer than you know."

Mufasa turned to see Sarabi and a few other lionesses come up to them. She turned worried eyes to Danny. "What happened to Danny?"

Mufasa grinned. "He just took on six hyenas by himself and killed them, including Ravage."

Danny watched as all of the lionesses dropped their jaws while he put away his weapons. Sarabi was shocked. "You killed Ravage? By yourself?"

He smiled in response to her question. "Yeah, I…" He grunted as he fell to his knees. The adrenaline rush had left him, and was now replaced with horrible pain from the slash marks on his chest and back, as well as the deep bite in his shoulder. "I need help." Danny lay on his back, breathing short, fast breaths.

Mufasa examined him. "He's been wounded. We need to get him some help. Zazu!"

The hornbill, who came in late after the fight, said, "What is your command, your Majesty?"

"Fly to Rafiki's tree. Tell him we have someone who needs immediate assistance to the chest, back, and shoulders. Quickly, Zazu!"

"At once," was all Zazu said as he flew off.

Danny felt himself giving in to the pain. As he blacked out, the last thing he heard from Mufasa was, "You're going to be alright. Just hang on."

* * *

Danny looked around. He was lying on his back, with the sun in his face. Blocking the sun from his eyes, he slowly got up. Looking around, he realized he was in a gorge. Everything was empty, just rocks and a few trees. Danny groaned. He was still in pain from the wounds, but what followed made him forget that. The ground started to vibrate. Further down the gorge, he could hear a rumbling.

Danny shook his head. "What is that?" His answer came soon enough, at the top of the gorge entrance. His jaw dropped as he saw a huge herd of wildebeests charging down the hill toward him. Not wasting anytime, he began running away. The pain from his wounds were searing, but he kept running. His heart was pounding and begging him to stop, but he kept going. There was no where to climb, nowhere to hide, only running away from the herd. They were closing in on him, fast; they were maybe 100 yards away.

Suddenly, a golden blur jumped down behind him. He couldn't tell who it was, but he was sure it was a lion. The lion was trampled under the wildebeests, but it bought Danny a window of time to round the corner and maybe get to safety. As he rounded the corner, his feet were suddenly slowing down. Danny looked down to see he was running in muck. He could hear the herd closing in. He pulled himself as fast as he could, but it did him little good.

He looked back. "This can't be happening!" The herd of wildebeests were now a huge clan of hyenas. They were running at him full speed, and it seemed like the muck was hard ground to them. They didn't slow down at all. Danny let out a cry as they hit him, knocking him to the ground.

Suddenly, he was seeing the hyenas from that gorge spreading out all over Pride Rock, engulfing it entirely like a plague. Danny couldn't believe what he was seeing. Herds were dying or disappearing while the land slowly faded away into a desolate wasteland. That view faded into black, with a huge head replacing his view: Scar.

Scar's green eyes pierced Danny's heart as he smiled evilly. "Wake up, Danny."

* * *

"Aaahh!" Danny woke up with a scream. He was not in the gorge, but back in the cave in Pride Rock. That nightmare left him shaking. What did it mean? How did the wildebeests turn into hyenas? What was Scar's relation to it? He let it pass for now, as the screaming pain in his wounds held a higher priority for him.

Sarabi walked in. "At least we know you're still alive. Are you okay?"

Danny grunted as he lifted himself up and propped his back against the wall. "I just got slashed and chomped by a hyena. No, I'm not okay." He was very irritated.

Sarabi was shocked to hear him talk like that. "Sorry I asked."

Danny calmed down. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have talked to you like that. That was rude of me. It's just that I'm not the kindest of people when I'm hurt."

"But you're okay." She looked back out to the cave's exit. "Rafiki should be here soon. I bet those hyenas were out trying to find some animals for food."

"No, they had other goals." Sarabi turned as Danny corrected her. "Apparently, they had orders to kill me. The clan leader, the one you called Ravage, said the boss told them to kill me."

Sarabi looked confused. "But…Ravage is their boss. Unless…"

Danny's eyebrows rose. "Unless they're getting their orders from someone else."

"I wonder who."

Danny thought, trying to put pieces together. The hyenas had taken their orders from someone outside of their clan. But who? A number of candidates came to mind, but one stood out from the rest: Scar. He had been wandering around the land on his own a lot, not sharing to anyone on what he was doing. Coupling things together with the nightmare, it all made perfect sense. There was one problem with all of this: it was only speculation. He had no hard evidence, no proof, just his own reasoning. Again, he put things aside, but he was going to look into this. He had a very bad feeling that more was behind this than what already transpired.

Mufasa came in. "Rafiki is here."

Danny heard some crazy chanting and soon, an old mandrill came walking in, holding a long stick with a few gourds hanging off the top. The white fur on his face formed a beard with red and blue markings marked his face like tattoos. He seemed to be a joyful character from the look on his face, but it also had an air of sub-sanity. Danny definitely wouldn't consider him entirely insane.

Rafiki came up and looked at him with and odd smile. "Well, wat have we here." He examined Danny's wounds. "Dat looks bad, but I fix it up for you." He grabbed a gourd from his stick and opened it in half. The aroma was sweet, and Danny would make sure to ask where he could find some to eat. After eating meat and MRE's, some fruit would be nice. Danny pulled off his shirt slowly to avoid giving Rafiki any obstruction problems.

Rafiki grabbed some sand, leaves and herbs and began making a mixture. When it was done, he rubbed it on his chest and shoulder first. The goo stung but settled. Danny rolled over to let Rafiki place the rest of the goo on his back. Again, it stung but dies down soon enough. Rafiki gave him a nod. "There, good as new."

Danny smiled. "Thanks, I appreciate it. Um, where can I find fruits like the ones on your stick?"

"Look around the trees. Der is plenty of them in the Pride Lands." The mandrill walked over to Mufasa. "He will be fine, but make sure dat he rests for a while. If he does, he will be fine later in the day."

Mufasa smiled and hugged Rafiki. "Thank you, my friend. Have a safe journey back home."

As Rafiki left, Danny got up. Sarabi stepped in front of him. "Where do you think you're going?"

Danny looked down at her. "Outside."

"No, you need some rest."

Danny gave her a smile he would use to persuade a girl to agree to go on a date. "And I am gonna rest…outside. I'd rather be resting with you guys out in the shade, than sitting here in the dark and alone."

Sarabi sighed with exasperation. "Fine, but hop on my back so there won't be a risk of injury." Danny complied and rode on Sarabi's back. They went down to a small plateau of grass and a few trees. Danny got off and watched Sarabi sit herself on a rock under the shade of a tree.

Danny sat down on the other side of the rock. "Wow, you've certainly picked a good spot to chill."

Sarabi placed her paw on his head and gave his growing hair a mussing. "You pick things up when you live here for so long."

"Hey." He brushed her paw off of him. He saw a lioness coming down the slope to greet them. "Sarafina, what's going on?"

Sarafina smiled at him. "Just coming down to give my congratulations. I heard you killed the hyena Ravage today. That's very commendable. You don't know how much pain he's brought to our pride." She was tearing up.

Danny looked at Sarabi. She had her eyes closed as she hung her head. He turned back to Sarafina. "You lost a cub to him…didn't you?"

"Not even six months. They grabbed him when I wasn't looking. I could smell them but couldn't find them until it was too late."

Danny couldn't think of much to say. "I'm so sorry."

Sarafina smiled. "It's okay, my cub has gone to rest with the kings of the past."

"What was his name?"

"Kadeem."

"I'll bet he would've made a great lion." He decided to change the subject. "Well, it's a nice, sunny day. Why don't we have a little catnap?"

Sarabi nodded. "That sounds good to me."

Danny set his watch for two hours and fell asleep.

* * *

Danny woke up to a roar. He nearly jumped from the loud noise. Sarafina had her paws on her ears. Sarabi was glaring at him. Danny frowned. "What's wrong?"

"What is that noise coming from your arm? Make it stop!" She shouted.

Danny realized his alarm was going off. "Oh." _Must've been going off for a while and I just didn't wake up._ He quickly turned off the alarm and the noise ceased. "Sorry about that."

Sarafina rested her paws on the ground. "Thank you, but from now on, please don't use that."

"No problem." Danny said, as Nala, Chumvi, and Tojo came bounding down. They were all playing and got tangled, coming tumbling down the hill. They rolled to a stop amidst Sarabi, Sarafina, and Danny. The human chuckled as he leaned back. "Well, look what the cat dragged in. Uh, no pun intended."

"Hey, Danny," Chumvi said.

The two birds that had been around Tojo when Danny first met them came flying down where he was sitting. Danny laughed. "Do those birds always fly around you, pretty boy?"

Tojo gave his charming smile. "What can I say? They can't stay away."

Danny laughed. "Well, why don't you save it for a lioness when you grow up."

Sarabi and Sarafina laughed. The cubs made disgusting noises in response to Danny's comment. Sarafina's head came up. "Nala, it's time for a bath."

"Yes, mom." Nala was obedient as she plopped herself into her mother's paws. Sarafina began licking her cub's head. Chumvi and Tojo went running off, playing elsewhere.

Danny knew he wasn't as obedient or easy to get a bath when he was a kid. He would always give his mom a fit, preferring to be dirty. Now, he understood the importance of it.

He turned to see Simba running down the hill. The cub seemed excited. Danny put his hands behind his head. "Hey, Simba."

"Hey, Danny," Simba said as he walked over to Nala. "Hey, Nala."

"Hey, Simba."

Simba brought his paw up to his mouth, and kept his voice low so his mom couldn't hear. "Come on. I just heard about this great place."

Nala creased her brow. "Simba, I'm kind of in the middle of a bath," she said through gritted teeth.

Sarabi lifted her head. "And it's time for yours." Danny watched Simba clench his teeth and try to get away, but his mother grabbed him by the head and start licking him.

"Mom!" He tried to get away, but Sarabi used her paw to hold him in place. "Mom, you're messing up my mane." She smiled at him while Danny cracked up and turned red from holding in his laughs. Simba jumped down and brushed his tuft of fur down. "Okay, okay. I'm clean, so can we go now?"

Nala looked back at him. "So where are we going? It better not be anyplace dumb."

Simba smiled as he whispered, "No, it's really cool."

Danny, who suspected something was going on. He looked at Sarabi. Sarabi, who was resting her head on her paws, got the look and turned to her son. "So where is this 'really cool' place?"

Again, Danny caught Simba's expression and could tell he was thinking up a lie to tell his mother. Simba's jaw hung. "Oh…around the waterhole." _That's the best he could come up with._

Nala looked at Simba as if he was insane. "The waterhole!? What's so great about the waterhole?"

Simba gave his mother a fake smile while whispering to Nala with gritted teeth. "I'll show you when we get there."

Nala seemed to understand and said, "Oh." She looked at Danny with her big, blue eyes. "Hey, Danny. You wanna come with us?"

Danny, still resting from his wounds, said, "Nah, I think I'm going to stay here for a bit. Probably go down and watch Tama and Mheetu play with the tetherball."

"Okay," she said. "Uh, mom. Can I go with Simba?"

"Hmm." She looked up at her friend. "What do you think, Sarabi?"

Sarabi acted as though she wasn't sure. "Well…"

"Please?" Nala and Simba said, with pathetic looking smiles.

To Danny's surprise, she said, "It's alright with me."

They cheered as Danny sat up. _Is she crazy? Letting them run around by themselves? Maybe I should go with them. _"Sarabi…"

She winked at me and turned to the celebrating cubs. "As long as Zazu goes with you."

Their celebrating stopped at hearing this, and Simba was really disappointed. "No, not Zazu." Nala looked just as dejected.

Sarabi raised her voice. "Zazu!"

The hornbill came down and bowed low. "Yes, my queen."

"I want you to watch over Simba and Nala while they go to this 'really cool' place by the waterhole."

Zazu bowed low, but Danny was sure this was not he job he was well suited for, let alone desired. "As you command, your Majesty." He flew over to the cubs and they walked down the slope.

Danny shook his head. "Zazu is gonna want this to be over ASAP." He looked at Sarabi. "You almost fooled me. I actually thought you were gonna let them go off on their own."

Sarabi smiled. "Trust me, I know my son very well, and I know when he's trying to pull a fast one on me."

Danny shrugged. "My mom was the same. She knew when something was up with me when I was a kid." He got up. "Okay, I'm going to get dressed and follow them. After what happened today, I'm not taking chances with myself or the cubs."

"Zazu can watch them," Sarabi said. She seemed fine with him watching.

"Granted," Danny agreed. "But if a group of predators jump up, what is he going to do? Peck them to death?" He stepped toward Sarabi. "Please, I'd rather not take the chance of them getting hurt. Zazu can watch but not protect."

"Well, it's not like I can tell you not to. Do as you wish." Danny headed up to his ship when Sarabi called him. "And Danny?" He turned to face her. "I'm glad you're taking a liking of the cubs, especially Simba and Nala. I'm glad to call you my son and Simba thinks you're the coolest brother ever."

Danny smiled. "I plan to keep it that way…mom." Sarabi smiled at the last word as he headed up to change.


	8. Curiosity Claims Another Cat

Chapter 8-Curiosity Claims Another Cat

Danny changed into his multicam shirt and shorts while putting on some running shoes. Instead of the M4, he armed himself with his M1014 "Big Gauge" shotgun and pistol, and carried his water canteen. He wasn't kidding when he told Sarabi he wasn't taking any chances after the incident with the hyenas. He grabbed some sunglasses and walked down from the summit. He was met halfway by someone he didn't want to see: Scar. Scar wasn't showing any anger, but on the flip side, he didn't look very cheerful either.

"Well, my prince. I heard you managed to take on six hyenas, including Ravage. Congratulations."

Danny kept his face neutral, but his brow creased. "Thanks. How did you hear about that?"

Scar finally chuckled. "In case you haven't noticed, it's been the talk of the entire pride. Ravage has been a nuisance for a long time. To hear that you killed him…takes great skill." He cocked his head, looking at the rifle. "Where are you going?"

Danny smirked. "I'm not that easy to break." As he walked away from Scar, Danny noticed his expression darkened. Instead of taking the speeder bike, he decided to hoof it. He didn't want to surprise anybody, just to keep a close eye on the cubs. He walked to the bottom and began walking to the waterhole. After walking past a small tree line, he reached the open field, with the waterhole dead ahead. "Huh…nobody here. So where are they?"

His answer came soon enough at the sound of singing and stomping behind the rocks on the other side of the waterhole. He crept up through the rocks just in time to see a huge crash of animals. When the dust cleared, only a rhinoceros remained. Danny could hear Zazu telling the rhino to get off. Danny laughed and looked around for the cubs. He saw them round the corner of a rock near a huge pit.

He caught up to them as they were laughing at how they pulled off losing Zazu. Simba smiled coolly. "I…am a genius."

Nala didn't seem to happy. "Hey, genius. It was my idea."

Simba's self-confident expression didn't change. "Yeah, but I pulled it off."

"With me." Nala added in.

Simba smirked. "Oh yeah?" He jumped her. Nala rolled with the tackle, letting the momentum flip her over and pin him to the ground.

She shot him her self-confident smile. "Ha! Pinned ya."

Simba, not wanting his pride hurt, pushed her off. "Hey, let me up." She turned around. Simba took the opportunity to pounce on her again. They rolled off the edge and Danny rushed to see if they were alright. They were fine, and Nala had once again put Simba on his back.

She smirked. "Pinned ya, again."

Steam blowing caught Danny's attention. They were in a bone yard and from the looks of the skulls and the size of the skeletal bodies, it was an elephant bone yard. The cubs looked out and were awed by the sight. Danny didn't like the looks of this, and crept down the hill. He reached the bottom and pulled out his big gauge. Steam erupted from geysers and the dusty air made Danny think that this wasn't a very cool place. He kept his breathing shallow to hear them better.

Nala shivered. "It's really creepy."

Simba was the total opposite. "Yeah, but isn't it great?"

Nala smirked as she leaned over to him. "We could get in big trouble."

"I know."

The turned to face the huge elephant skull in front of them. "I wonder if its brains are still in there?" Nala asked.

Simba smirked. "There's only one way to know. C'mon, let's check it out."

"Wrong!" Danny was about to make himself known when Zazu came out of nowhere. _How did he get over here so fast?_ "The only checking out you will do will be to check out of here."

Simba half-turned, disappointed. "Aw, man."

Zazu was petrified. "We're WAY beyond the boundaries of the Pride Lands."

Simba turned back and smiled. "Look, Banana Beak is scared."

Danny shook his head. His gut got colder and colder, and when that happened, it usually was a sign of danger getting closer and closer. Zazu pressed a feather against Simba's nose. "It's Mr. Banana Beak to you, Fuzzy. And right now, we are all in very real danger."

Simba laughed as he trotted out near the skull. "Danger?" He scoffed. "I walk on the wild side. I laugh in the face of danger. Ha ha ha ha!"

His laugh was soon echoed by others. He gasped and jumped behind Nala and Zazu. Coming out of the skull were three laughing hyenas. Danny instantly recognized them as the ones that attacked him and got away earlier. The female looked them over. "Well, well, Bonzai. What have we got here?"

Bonzai arched an eyebrow. "Hmmm, I don't know, Shenzei. What do you think, Ed?" Ed just laughed maniacally. "Eh, just what I was thinking. A trio of trespassers."

Zazu chuckled nervously. "And quite by accident, I assure you. A simple navigational error. We'll…" He tried to turn but Shenzei placed her paw down on his tail feathers.

"Wait, wait. I know you. You're Mufasa's little stooge."

Danny could see this conversation was going south so he checked his ammo. He had about forty-five shells and one magazine for his pistol. He needed to cover their butts as Simba, Nala, and Zazu would make a break for it. Two more hyenas showed up on top of the skull. _This is bad._

Zazu and the cubs tried to go back the way they could, but Shenzei stopped them. "Wait, what's the hurry? We'd love to stick around for dinner."

Bonzai agreed. "Yeah, we could have whatever's lion around." All five hyenas started laughing.

Zazu finally saw Danny. Danny motioned for the three of them to get moving through the bone yard. They started running as Danny got on his feet.

Shenzei, not paying attention, cracked a joke too. "Wait, wait, I got one. Make mine a cub sandwich. Whatchu think?" She asked, laughing. Ed, for being the weirdest one of the bunch, seemed to be the only one paying attention to their food, and was panicking, pointing in their direction. "What, Ed? What is it?"

Bonzai looked in the way Ed was pointing. "Hey, did we order this dinner to go?"

Shenzei shook her head. "No, why?"

"Cuz…there it GOES!!" They looked as the cubs and Zazu headed to the other side of the bone yard.

Before any even moved, Danny cocked his big gauge. That got their attention. He stepped out. "I'll take you five for here."

The hyena trio knew what he was capable of, and didn't want to take him by themselves. Bonzai looked at the other two. "You two can have him. We get the kids and the bird." They ran off as Danny faced the two hyenas.

They both bared their teeth at him, hungrily craving his meat. Danny smiled and pulled the trigger. They were so close together that one shell killed one while the pellets tore through the eyes of the other, blinding him. As the live hyena was howling in pain, Danny took off after the others. He ran down the mound and ran by numerous elephant skulls. Danny stopped when twelve hyenas blocked his path.

One of the spoke in a growling manner. "Where do you think you're going?"

Danny reached in his pocket slowly and loaded a screecher, a shotgun shell that created a very loud noise to scare off animals, into the shotgun. He cocked the shotgun. "I'm just passing through," he said. He aimed right in front of the predators and fired. The shell hit the ground and the noise was piercing. Danny resisted the urge to cover his ears but the hyenas, with their sensitive hearing, couldn't take the noise. Danny used the opportunity to blast his way through the pack and made his way to an opening.

As he reloaded his big gauge, he looked around for Zazu and the cubs. "Where are they?"

As he finished reloading, his answer came soon enough. He heard something of an explosion and saw, off to his right, Zazu being shot off into the sky like a Roman candle. He ran in that direction. He found the three hyenas laughing in a pit where a flaming geyser was at. Danny looked on the other side and saw Simba glaring at them. "Hey, why don't you pick on someone your own size?"

Shenzei narrowed her eyes. "Like…you?"

Simba finally realized that he and Nala should've just taken the advantage to run. "Oops." The hyenas snapped at them, causing them to run away. But the hyenas spooked them from the other side of the geyser, narrowing the lion cubs window of escape. They ran towards a hill of bones.

The three hyenas advanced past Danny. Behind them were about twenty more hyenas. Danny pulled out his pistol and stepped out. He emptied the magazine in seconds, taking out six of them. He could've taken out twelve of them if he aimed carefully, but with them all rushing at him, he didn't have the time. He holstered his pistol and brought his big gauge up to bear down at the remaining fourteen. He quickly unloaded the shells on them. The spread shots did well at hitting all of them, but didn't do much at slowing them down; only four were killed because they were the closest.

Danny decided it was time for desperate measures. If he took too long with these guys, the hyena trio would kill the cubs. He pulled out a circular object with a pin. He twisted and pulled the pin and rolled it on the ground. "Trick or treat!" He ran to the bone hill as fast as he could. Soon an explosion deafened his ears as the grenade went off, killing the hyenas. He fell down and waited for the shrapnel and any other flying objects to hit the ground. Once clear, he got up and ran for the hill.

Already, he could see trouble. Simba made it to the top, but Nala was sliding down. The hyenas, who were at the bottom, were almost on her. Danny tried to reload and got one shell in. He looked up and saw Simba charge down and swipe Shenzei with his claws before she could take a bite out of Nala. Danny was impressed. "Brave, little squirt."

Unfortunately, that left Shenzei very livid, as evidenced by her deep growling. "That little cub is going to die slowly."

Danny came running up. "Gangway, coming through." He swung the butt of his big gauge against Bonzai's head, knocking him to the ground. Ed took a quick swipe at Danny's back. The scabs from his back wounds reopened, causing him to scream. He took his shotgun and slammed the stock into Ed's face, sending him tumbling down the hill. Danny placed his rifle underneath her, and with all of his strength, lifted her up and flipped her over, sending her down the hill.

They quickly recovered and began climbing. Danny scrambled to the top. He got his upper body over the ledge when he felt sharp pain in his calf. Danny screamed as the pain was getting to him. He turned around to see one of the twenty hyenas holding him back with his claws digging into his legs. Danny brought the shotgun back in the hyena's face and fired. The hyena's body went tumbling back down, allowing Danny to get up. As he did, he limped his way to where the cubs were. The only place they could've gone is through a small crevice.

The pain in his body was excruciating. He leaned to far that his shoulder bumped into the wall, and he lost grip of his shotgun. He stopped and tried to bend down to get it, but the hyenas were already at the top and running his way. Danny cursed and limped to the cubs. They were somewhat hidden in a huge rib cage. Danny crawled his way to them, not being able to bear the pain much more.

The hyenas came into view, and Danny couldn't find a way out. Bonzai was growling. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty."

Danny was in no condition to fight. He was in pain from his wounds, his pistol was empty, he had no knife with him. He had shotgun shells, but his big gauge was behind the hyenas. There was no way he would make it past them to get it.

To his surprise, Simba stepped forward and tried his best roar. It was little more than a loud growl. Danny groaned. _Not the best thing to do right now._

The hyenas laughed. Shenzei stepped forward. "Ha, that was it? Come on, do it again." She was getting a kick out of this.

Simba tried again, but this time, it was a lion roar. Nala was stunned, and Danny, who was wincing from the pain, stared at him incredulously. _That couldn't have been him._

The hyenas frowned. "Huh?"

Suddenly, a huge paw swiped them to the ground. It was Mufasa, in a larger rage than Danny had ever seen. He was making short work of them. Zazu came flying down next to Danny and the cubs and watched. Danny got up as Mufasa landed on top of the three hyenas; they were dwarfed by him easily. The hyenas began nervously chattering for mercy.

"Silence!" Mufasa said loudly. It wasn't a yell, but it could be easily heard for at least a mile.

Shenzei tried to reason with the king. "Calm down. We're really sorry."

Mufasa's eyes pierced each of them. "If you ever come near my son again…"

Shenzei acted surprised. "Oh, this…this is your son?" She looked at Bonzai. "Did you know he was his son?"

Bonzai played along. "No, no I didn't know." Both of them looked to their right. "Ed?" Ed just nodded. This resulted in Mufasa roaring very loud. Bonzai weakly smiled. "Toodles." Then the three ran off for the bone yard and disappeared.

Zazu landed next to Mufasa and looked up at him proudly. Mufasa looked down at him, and was clearly not happy. His expression made Zazu cower down. Danny walked next to him, but a certain distance away.

Simba walked up to him. "Dad…"

Mufasa turned to glare at his son. "You deliberately disobeyed me."

Simba was at a loss for words. "Dad, I…I'm sorry."

"Let's go home," was all Mufasa said. He stalked off with Zazu gliding right behind him.

Danny grabbed his shotgun and reloaded it. Simba and Nala walked slowly behind Mufasa so Danny stayed with them. He heard Nala speak to Simba, trying to cheer him up. "I thought you were very brave." Unbeknownst to the animals, Danny heard something behind them and above them. He turned around and aimed his shotgun at the cliff. There was no more noise, but he kept quiet to listen in. He felt someone was watching him, but couldn't see anyone. Finally, he turned around and limped his way back to Mufasa and the others.

* * *

They walked back to Pride Rock through the open fields. It was dusk and the sun was almost set. Zazu hung back in the rear with the cubs, mainly for fear of reprisal from Mufasa. Danny was up in front with Mufasa, shotgun at the low ready. He was in pain but he needed to suck it up until he got back to the cave, or better yet, his ship's bed. Given his condition, it would probably be best.

Danny looked over to Mufasa and kept his voice low. "How are you feeling?"

Mufasa wasn't as angry as he was earlier, but he was still in a dark mood. "I've had better days. What did your father do if you deliberately disobeyed?"

"Two words: harsh discipline. Discipline, whether spanking, punishments or lecturing, would be enforced by my father. Spanking generally works on youngsters, but that's about it. It probably won't work for lions, but punishments and lectures probably would."

"Thank you," he replied. "Zazu!"

Zazu quickly flew over but was still fearful. "Y-Yes, sire?"

"Take Danny and Nala home. I've got to teach my son a lesson." Simba cowered low in the grass upon hearing this.

Danny limped back to them with Zazu landing in between the cubs. "Come, Nala. Simba?" He grabbed the cub's shoulders with his wings and sighed. "Good luck."

Danny walked with Zazu and Nala as they headed back for Pride Rock. He was still in pain, but he now wanted to know how Simba first learned of the elephant graveyard. He knew Mufasa would've told him not to go there, but he was positive Simba wouldn't initially disobey his father. Someone must've told him something about the place that got Simba excited. He looked at Nala. "Did Simba tell you who told him about the graveyard?"

Nala shook her head. "No, Simba just told me where we were going."

Zazu flew into Danny's view. "Are you suggesting something, my prince?"

Danny was still trying to get used to being called that. "I suspect foul play. I think someone told Simba something about the place that got him excited. Did Mufasa tell him about the place?"

"I'm not sure. I was out collecting my morning report so I couldn't tell you that."

"Alright, but I'm not done with this issue. I'm going to ask Mufasa and Simba about this…separately, of course."

Nala looked at him sympathetically. "Aren't you taking this too far?"

Danny shook his head. "No. I'm just making sure about this. If I'm wrong, then I hope Simba learns his lesson. If I'm right, I'm going to let Mufasa know of my concerns."

They made it back to Pride Rock. Danny had trouble getting up the slope but he made it to the cave. The lionesses were already inside, waiting for Mufasa to come back. When Sarabi saw Danny limping in his torn clothes and ran to him. "What happened?"

Danny smiled glumly. "The hyenas happened. I followed Simba and Nala to the geyser crevice. The hyenas attacked them and I battled my way through the hyenas to the cubs. That's when Mufasa saved us. He's out with Simba, doling out some discipline to him for disobeying."

Sarabi was still concerned. "Zazu, send for Rafiki."

Danny waved her off. "No, no. I'll be fine. Besides, I don't want to make Rafiki travel back twice in one day to take care of me. My wounds will heal by themselves. I think I'll sleep on my ship's bed tonight."

Sarabi nudged him with her head. "I'm just glad you and Simba are alive. You seem to be a hyena magnet today."

"Well, I hope that changes soon." He could tell they were all tired and in need of some sleep. But they were waiting for Mufasa to return. "Tell you what, you need some sleep. Go to sleep, and I'll keep watch until they get back. I don't think Mufasa will get angry if y'all are asleep."

Sarabi, who thought this over, nodded. "Very well. Let's get some sleep."

Danny noticed someone else was not among them. "Uh, where is Scar at?"

Sarafina answered. "Haven't heard from him."

"It's been three hours," Sarabi said.

Danny narrowed his eyes. This made him all the more suspicious of Scar. "Alright, get some sleep. I'll keep watch until they get back. After which, I will go to bed."

It was only thirty minutes when Mufasa and Simba came back. Simba looked a bit subdued, and Mufasa looked very tired. They both looked ready for some sleep, but there was a hint of cheer in their expressions.

Danny stood. "Well, I'm glad you both made it back safely. Did everything get resolved?"

"Yes," Mufasa replied. He started to go inside, but Danny stopped him.

"Mufasa, I know you are tired but I need to ask you a question. What did you tell Simba about the geyser crevice?"

"Only that it was beyond our borders and not to go there. Why?"

"I'll let you know tomorrow. Right now, you should get some rest." As Mufasa went in, Simba tried to follow but Danny blocked his path. "Wait, hang on, pal. I need to ask you something."

Simba, usually very active, was now pretty tired. "What is it?" Even his tone was full of irritation.

"What made you think the bone yard was a cool place?"

"Uncle Scar told me about it. He said only the bravest of lions go there."

That was it. Saying only the bravest was what got Simba going, thinking if he went, he would be brave. So, Danny's suspicions were leading closer to being confirmed. That Scar was trying to set Simba up. Danny nodded, knowing what he needed to know and not wanting to hold Simba up anymore. "Alright, you better get some sleep, bro."

Simba frowned. "Bro?"

Danny chuckled. "It's short for brother."

"Oh, ok. Are you going to come in?"

"No, I gotta rest on the bed in my ship tonight." With that, Danny headed up the slope to his ship. He was now very untrustworthy of Scar. To Danny, it seemed that Scar was trying to get rid of Simba to be next in line for the throne, and probably Danny as well just to be safe. He would let Mufasa know in the morning. He entered his ship and closed the ramp. He took off his shredded clothes and put on a tank-top and pajamas. He slipped into his bed and pulled the blankets over his body. He hadn't slept in his bed in a while, and the comfort was much better than a sleeping bag. Danny's head hit the pillow and he fell asleep.


	9. The Stampede

Chapter 9-The Stampede

Danny woke up. He usually got up at 6 or 7am, but it was 11:30. He got up and stretched. Putting on some clothes and eating a rapid breakfast, he grabbed his last ten cameras and began setting up the cameras. Since they were all going on Pride Rock, he placed some at the base of Pride Rock, a few at the midpoint, and three on the summit, overlooking the entire land. It only took an hour to set them up, and when that was finished, he went inside his ship. Setting up his joint nodal network, he was pleased to see all cameras operating with no trouble.

Some movement caught his eye on camera 26. That camera was overlooking one end of the gorge not too far from Pride Rock. He pressed the button and it came up on the main screen. In the gorge, near a rock under the shade of a tree, were Simba and Scar. Danny narrowed his eyes. He hardly trusted Scar, let alone with Simba and seeing as how there was no one else, this didn't help matters. He shook his head. "Computer, give me audio on camera 26."

"Affirmative." The computer complied and turned on the audio receiver.

Scar was smiling and sounded like he was holding back something exciting. "Now, you wait here. Your father has a marvelous surprise for you."

Simba seemed excited as he sat on the shaded rock. "Ooh, what is it?"

Scar looked at him pitifully. "If I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise now, would it?"

Simba smirked. "If you tell me, I'll still act surprised."

Scar gave him a slight push. "Ooh, you are such a _naughty _boy."

Simba laid his front paws on his uncle's mane. "Aww, come on, Uncle Scar," he said, trying to pry the answer out.

Scar looked away. "No, no, no, no. This is just for you and your daddy. You know, a father-son…thing." He looked back at him with a smile. "Well, I better go get him." He started to walk off.

Simba came bounding after him. "I'll go with you."

"No!" Scar said harshly. Danny snarled at this. Scar eased up on his voice and laughed lightly. "No. Just…stay on this rock. You wouldn't want to get in a mess like you did with the hyenas."

Simba's expression was downcast. "You know about that?"

"Simba, everybody knows about that."

"Really?"

"Oh, yes. Lucky daddy was there to save you, eh?" He put a paw around his nephew. "And just between us, you might want to work on that little roar of yours."

Simba nodded, dejected. "Oh…ok."

"That's a good lad." Scar walked off.

Simba's expression brightened. "Hey, Uncle Scar. Will I like the surprise?"

Scar stopped. Danny could clearly tell he was annoyed. He forced a smile and turned his head around. "Simba, it's to _die _for."

Danny got up and walked outside. How did Scar know about the hyena incident? _He might've heard it from one of the lionesses after I told them about it last night, probably Zira._ He stopped just as he passed his speeder. Something crossed his mind. _But how did he know about Simba's roar? I never told anybody about that. Mufasa couldn't have, as he went to sleep as soon as he got back last night._ Whatever was going on, Danny didn't like it. He hopped on his speeder bike and rode down to the cave.

He found Sarabi getting the lionesses ready to hunt. Nala was with them, probably learning the ropes of hunting. Danny got off his bike. "Sarabi, where is Mufasa at?"

Sarabi turned to face him. "On his morning rounds. He should be done soon."

"Did he have a surprise for Simba?"

Sarabi shook her head. "Not that I know of."

"Does he ever withhold surprises for Simba from you?"

"No, he always tells me if he has something for Simba. Why do you ask?" She could see the fear and panic in his face. "Is something wrong?"

"Don't worry about it. Just go on with the hunt. I'll be back later." He hopped on the speeder bike and rode down the slope to the base of Pride Rock. As soon as he hit the bottom, he gunned the engines and took off. He only hoped he wasn't too late.

* * *

It took about five minutes but it seemed like five hours to Danny before he reached the gorge. He saw Simba sitting down on a rock. He hopped off and began climbing down the gorge wall, using the rocks jutting out as stepping stairs. He reached the bottom and jogged over to the rock. He called out to the cub. "Hey, Simba!"

Simba lifted his head up. "Oh, hey Danny."

Danny smiled, relieved to see he was alright. Maybe he was wrong about what he thought. "What are you so down about?"

"Uncle Scar told me to sit here and wait for my father to come. He told me to work on my little roar." Simba made a face. "Little roar…puh."

Danny saw a lizard coming his way. "Well, here's your chance." He pointed to the lizard. Simba caught it and got behind it. He roared, but it was more of a growl. He tried again, but to no avail. The lizard wasn't scared. As it walked down the rock and away from them, Simba tried yet again. This time, he did roar. It scared the lizard off of its feet, and while the roar was what to expect from a cub, it echoed throughout the gorge. Danny applauded him. "Good job, Simba. A little more time, practice, and patience, and you'll be heard for miles."

Simba smiled at the compliment. "Thanks."

"Now, I think we…" He stopped. Something felt different. He and Simba looked down at the ground. Little pebbles were bouncing off the ground, and soon Danny could feel rumbling and heard it coming from up on the edge of the gorge. His heart sank as he saw a huge herd of wildebeests coming down the gorge, too fast for him to grab Simba and climb up the hill. What was worse, there was no where to go. "RUN!!"

He and Simba took off for the other end of the gorge, but it had to be at least a mile long, if not two. Simba slipped but regained his footing and continued running. Danny had a bit of a head start but the wildebeests were catching up. Through panted breaths, he said, "Mufasa, wherever you are, I could sure use your help."

* * *

Off in the distance, Mufasa and Zazu were finishing up their morning rounds. Everything seemed okay, except the hippo clan. They were having hyena trouble and Mufasa said he would do his best. They heard a rumbling off in the distance and Zazu spotted it first. "Oh look, sire. The wildebeest heard is on the move."

Mufasa frowned. _Why would they be moving when they were perfectly fine in the plains? _"Odd."

His answer came soon enough as his brother Scar came up to him. "Mufasa, quick…stampede…in the gorge…Simba's down there."

At this, Mufasa's face was full of fear and concern. "Simba?" He wasted no time. "Let's go. Zazu, fly ahead and locate Simba."

"As ordered, your Majesty." Zazu flew off with frightful speed.

* * *

Danny and Simba were desperate for air, but the herd behind them urged them to keep going. Danny had no weapons this time; the only thing he had was a flash bang grenade that he left in his pants pocket when he last used them. He pulled it out just they were closing in. He tossed it back in hopes that it would stall the herd. It did. The flash bang exploded, blinding the wildebeests at the forefront of them herd. Danny and Simba slowed down to catch their breath as they neared the walls.

Unfortunately, the shockwave of the grenade caused some rocks to break off of the walls and tumble down. One rock landed on Danny's foot, causing him to fall. Simba stopped and turned around. "Are you alright, Danny?"

He grunted from the pain. "Yeah, I'll live." In the distance, he saw a dead tree sticking out from the ground, with just enough elevation to avoid the herd. "Head for that tree. Stay up there until the herd passes through. I'll try to get my foot out from underneath this rock. GO!"

Simba did as he was told and ran. A second later the herd was on him. Danny pressed his body as close to the gorge wall as possible. Simba quickly climbed up the tree branch as the herd began to engulf him.

Zazu found Danny trapped and flew down to him. "Are you alright, my prince?"

Danny was trying to wrestle his foot out without damaging it while avoiding the herd. "I'm trapped by a rock and being almost trampled by wildebeests, but other than that, I'm just dandy," he replied sarcastically.

"Where is Simba?"

"He's up ahead, hopefully doing what I told him to do. If he did, he should be on a tree branch not too far ahead from here. Where's Mufasa?"

"He's on the way. I'm going to find Simba." Zazu flew off. He was no more than forty meters when he spotted Simba hanging from the tree. He flew down.

Simba saw him coming. "Zazu, help me."

Flapping his wings to hover, Zazu said, "Your father is on the way, hold on."

"Hurry!" Simba was starting to lose my grip.

Zazu flew up to where Mufasa and Scar were. They were frantically looking for Simba. Zazu stopped in front of them. "There, there! On that tree! Danny's over there. He seems safe, but his foot is trapped by a rock."

Mufasa looked to where Danny was at. He seemed fine, but the king didn't know for how much longer. But his own flesh-and-blood son was the more important priority. "Hold on, Simba!" He jumped in the stampede to reach his son.

Zazu panicked. "Oh, Scar. This is awful. What are we going to do? What do we do!? I'll go back for help. Yes, that's what I'll do. I'll go back for…" He never finished his statement as he hit a rock, unconscious.

Off in the distance, Danny saw Mufasa jump in. Even though he was on the ground, the path ahead was on a decline, allowing him to see what was going on. He couldn't see Mufasa, but then his attention was drawn to Simba. A wildebeest ran right into the base of the tree, snapping it, and sending Simba into the air. "No!" Out of nowhere, Mufasa jumped from among the herd and caught Simba with his mouth.

He watched him get up and place Simba on a ledge above the herd. But just as he did, the herd caught him and dragged him with them and underneath their sight. He heard Simba scream, "Dad!" Danny looked around, hoping Mufasa was alright. _Oh, God. Don't let him die._ Danny already had a father possibly lost, he didn't plan on losing another.

He felt relieved when he saw Mufasa jump out of the herd and land on a steep slope. His claws were digging into the rock and dirt. Simba couldn't see him and began climbing up, but Danny could still see him for a little bit longer. Danny was almost done getting the rock off. Then he would wait until the herd was past and figure out what happened. He heard a roar of pain, causing him to look up.

At first, there was nothing. Then he saw the last thing he wanted to see and hear. Mufasa, the great king of Pride Rock and ruler of the Pride Lands, was falling to his death and screaming all the way. "NNNOOOOO!!!!!" Danny screamed. It seemed to echo along the gorge walls, as if someone joined him in screaming. He watched Mufasa fall under the herd and get trampled to death. Before Danny could do anything else, one of the last wildebeests in the herd ran by. Its foot smacked the back of Danny's head. Even though it was a small foot, it was more than enough to knock him unconscious.

* * *

Danny woke up. It was evening, and the sun was beginning to set. Danny's head was pounding. _The wildebeest's legs are stronger than they look, _he thought. The kid put his hand on the back of his head and felt a decent-sized lump on the back of his head. He waited for a moment to let the pounding settle. It finally did, and Danny began to focus getting the rock off. Despite its weight, he managed to get his foot out from under the rock. His calf had long since been asleep, and he was limping as he got up. He looked around. Dust was just about settled in the area from the stampede, and he could see more clearly.

He saw something up ahead, and walked toward the object. It grew bigger and bigger as he came closer. When he noticed the object was horizontal, he was afraid it was what he feared. _Oh God, please don't let it be…_ As he got closer, his worst fear was confirmed.

It was the body of Mufasa. He was dead, underneath a broken tree branch.

Danny's eyes welled up in tears as he dropped to his knees. He brushed the mane of the great king; it's rich color was now dull. Danny choked out the crying. Mufasa had become his surrogate father, and now another part of Danny's life taken away. All the pent up emotions finally let loose as Danny pounded the ground. "DAMN IT!!" He started to cry endlessly. "Damn it!" He had failed his second father, who in many ways, resembled his own blood father. If only he had grabbed Simba without thinking twice, Mufasa might still be alive.

Danny's body refused to do anything, except shake and cry. He had lost too many people in his life, and now one more was added to the list. This would be a day burned into his memory forever, along with the day the chaplain came to tell him his family was dead.

He looked down at his fists, which were now red and bloody. _What am I going to tell the pride? Sarabi? She will be heartbroken. Losing her mate and…wait, where's Simba?_ That question made him pop his eyes open. There were tiny paw prints close to the body, but no body of Simba. Danny got up and looked around. He found no body, and found paw prints on the ground leading away from Mufasa, away from Pride Rock. He followed them until they were gone. The wind had already blown by and covered any other signs of paw prints.

From the looks of the paws, the only direction Danny could assume Simba went was the dead end to his left. Danny jogged that way to see if he could find more prints. He rounded the corner to find a dead end. But the end was sloped with packed down sand and rocks. He climbed his way up. Danny reached the top, and only found a steep drop. At the bottom were a huge patch of thorns. He looked down for paw prints, and found some. They were much bigger prints, and didn't quite resemble a lion's. Danny wasn't an expert at paw prints, but he knew they weren't a lion's, not even a cub's prints.

Danny came to a conclusion that he would share with the pride later on. He headed back to the gorge. Danny ran back to where he started and climbed up the rocks he had climbed down earlier, to reach his speeder. He made it to the top and sat down on his bike. The boy gunned the engines. He needed to inform the pride of the tragedies that occurred.

Danny reached Pride Rock at nightfall. He still had tears in his eyes, but they weren't flowing like they were before. His eyes were red-rimmed, and the tears made his light brown eyes look green. He was a wreck, but now a new question came up. Where would they go from here? Danny didn't know, but it would be anything but good. He saw the pride up ahead; they were gathered together, obviously waiting for something. Scar was coming down from the cave when Danny walked up to the pride.

Zainabu saw him first. "Danny, where've you been? Scar is about to make an announcement." She saw the tears and red-rimmed eyes. "Is something wrong?"

Danny was about to answer when Scar spoke. "I have an announcement to make, one of great sadness. There was a stampede of wildebeests in the gorge earlier today. I regret to inform all of you that Mufasa, my brother and king of the Pride Lands, and Simba, the prince and future king, have been killed in the stampede."

Everyone was shocked. Sarabi was heartbroken, and it showed when she bowed her head low, with tears streaming down her cheeks. Zazu tried to comfort her, placing his wings on her paw. Danny came over to her and placed his hands on her face. "I'm so sorry. I made it there just before the stampede occurred. I wish I had gotten there sooner. If I did, things might be different." Sarabi looked up with a face that made Danny's heart ache. She didn't say anything, but brought her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her neck, giving her comfort that she still had a son. He looked back up at Scar.

For the first time, Scar looked upset, mainly because Danny was still alive. Scar kept his voice neutral, showing no signs of sadness. "Mufasa's death is a terrible tragedy for us all. But to lose Simba, who had barely begun to live…for me, it is a deep, personal loss." Danny just stared at him. Scar definitely did not sound like he cared about his brother and nephew's death. "So it is with a heavy heart that I assume the throne." Danny's eyes were now drawn to the growing shadows behind Scar. Scar remained calm. "Yet out of the ashes of this tragedy, we shall rise to greet the dawning of a new era…" He rose to the ascending rock jutting out of Pride Rock. "…in which lion and hyena will come together, in a great and glorious future."

Danny got up from his position to see the entire hyena clan come around them. He reached for his pistol when he realized it wasn't there. His worst fear was becoming a real live nightmare. And for all of the lionesses. Well, most of them. The only one who was smiling was Zira. Danny knew it was because of her relationship with Scar that she would be in an elevated position. He watched as the hyenas ran about, chasing herds and spreading out all over the land. _This is just like my dream. _

Scar spoke again. "From here on, Sarabi is relieved of her duties as queen. Zira is now my appointed queen. By tomorrow morning, all cubs will be killed."

Danny thought Scar went mad. "What!?"

Scar held up a paw. "But seeing as how the kingship is in transition, you may have tonight to say you're goodbyes."

He went up with Zira to the top. Danny looked down at Sarafina. Already, she and Nala were nuzzling and in tears at the news. He ran up to Scar, with Sarabi right behind him. Danny was beyond livid; he was almost possessed. "Scar, are you crazy? Those cubs didn't do anything to deserve death."

Scar remained neutral. "Well, I don't feel I have to waste my time raising cubs that are not my own."

Danny protested. "But this is ludicrous."

Scar was growing angry. "Quiet, boy. If I didn't see any value in you before, I'd have you slaughtered with the rest of them."

Danny kept quiet, but he really wished he had his pistol right now. Then an idea came to him. "Then, if you're going to do that, then why not save the female cubs?"

Scar snorted. "Why should I do that?"

Sarabi looked at Danny. She whispered to him. "What are you doing?"

Danny pretended as if he didn't hear her. "You're gonna need lionesses to hunt. If you don't have a young generation trained now, you might have to wait even longer for your generation. By then, most will have starved or you would have to do the hunting yourself." He hoped this would work.

Scar thought about this, at first. Then a smile played on his lips. "I wise suggestion. It would be rather difficult to hunt without fresh young lionesses to take the place of the old ones. Very well, the females will be spared." His harsh voice returned. "However, the male cubs will be killed tomorrow morning."

Danny smiled. "Whatever you say, your Highness." He bowed low and walked down the slope.

Sarabi glared at him as she walked beside him. "What are you doing? Sucking up to him?"

Danny gave her a calm smile. "One would think." He came down to the lionesses and brought them underneath the arching rock, away from the hyenas. "I managed to make a deal with Scar. He will allow the female cubs to live."

Already, commotion ran among the pride. One of the lionesses, Dembe, was angry. "You call that a deal? What about the male cubs?"

Danny was sure one of the male cubs were hers. He shook his head. "He still plans to carry out the killing." The commotion began to grow, but Danny quickly waved his hands down. "Keep it down. I don't wanna attract the hyenas. Yes, he plans to kill the males…" Danny smirked and glanced back at Sarabi. "…but how can he kill what he cannot find?"

This caught all of their attention. Sarabi finally was understanding what he was getting at. "Go on."

Danny pointed to the east. "I will take all of the male cubs to King Jabari and Malka's prides. They can take care of them for now."

"Until when?" Sarafina asked.

"Until they have grown up to the point where they can help us fight back and force Scar to step down."

All of the lionesses agreed. Their outlook on the situation changed in that instant. Sarabi smiled at him. "Danny, that is a good idea. You definitely have great wisdom and cunning to think of something like this."

Zainabu spoke up. "But what if Scar finds out?"

Danny turned to her and shrugged. "So what? What's he gonna do? Kill me? I'll shoot him before he takes three steps. He'll just pout for an hour and then get over it." He looked back at all of the hyenas. _This won't be easy._ "Alright, here's the plan."

* * *

In the middle of the night, the hyenas were awake. Being nocturnal creatures, they were more active at night. Danny was wide awake. He made it to the summit of Pride Rock, where the _**Paratus Preliator **_was. It wasn't easy, with the moonlight as his only guide and the hyenas being awake. But most were after herds of animals, so he didn't worry much about them. He went inside and armed himself with his M4 rifle, M9 pistol, and ka-bar knife. He also grabbed two MRE's and his night vision goggles. He would need both for the next couple of days. Coming back down was much easier with the night vision on.

Danny made it back down to the underside of the arch. The other lionesses were standing guard around the cubs. "Okay, I'm back. My cargo container can hold a good number of cubs. So I'm taking Tojo and Chumvi to Jabari's pride. Mheetu will go to Aren's pride with Malka."

Two lionesses stepped forward, Ebere and Berhane. Ebere spoke first. "My daughter Tama would like to go to Malka's pride. She has taken an interest in Malka when he was here and would like to be with him. In the interests of my daughter, I would like to ask if you could take her with you."

"I would like Kula to be with her brother and Tojo. Chumvi can give her guidance and take care of her. I would rather she live in peace than in a land ruled by a tyrant like Scar," Berhane added in.

Danny hesitated. "I don't know, we need all the lionesses we can have for hunting." He saw the pleading look in their eyes. "But if that's what you two want, I will take them with me."

They both smiled and said, "Thank you."

As they and the other mothers losing their cubs said their goodbyes, Danny turned to Sarafina and Sarabi. "This will take probably two to three days. At least these cubs will still have their life ahead of them." He looked down at Nala. She was sleeping, and he could still see the dried up tears on her face. "I wish things were different right now."

Sarabi smiled. "Just be careful. You've done so much for us, and we need to stick together now more than ever, especially since Mufasa…" She trailed off as she choked cries.

Danny rubbed her head. "I know he's gone here, but he's with the kings of the past, watching over us." He didn't believe in the religious voodoo they did, but he thought it would help.

She smiled. "I know, but right now you need to go."

Danny nodded and headed over to his speeder bike. He picked each cub up and placed them in the cargo container behind his seat. He had drilled holes so they could breathe. There was just enough space for them to lay down without feeling cramped. He turned the speeder on. He turned to the pride. "See ya later." He hopped on and took off.

It was still night when Danny was out of the pride lands. No hyena was even close to him in these lands, but he wasn't sure of his surroundings. His night vision definitely helped him navigate through the lands, and so far, he didn't spot any possible threats. He reached the base of the mountain where Malka's pride was supposedly. Danny stopped and made camp in the trunk of a tree. The cubs all bunched up around Danny as he wrapped them up in a blanket. They spent the rest of the night resting.

* * *

It was late in the morning when they woke up. Danny put the cubs back in the container and packed back up. He ignited the bike and headed up the mountain. Hopefully, they would find Malka and his pride. They drove up the mountain into a decent valley. It was beautiful and looked peaceful. Danny heard rocks moving and stopped the bike. He looked around. He got off and pulled out his pistol.

From the box, he heard Tojo say, "What is it, Danny?"

Danny didn't turn to look at the box. "Somebody is here." Suddenly, lionesses appeared all around him. He realized he had nowhere to go, except jump off the cliff but that wasn't among his options for living. They growled at him as their tails flicked wildly. "Yeah, someone is definitely here." He aimed his pistol at them. "Look, I don't want to hurt anybody."

One lioness came out in front of the pride. "Who are you?" She demanded, baring her teeth.

"You can call me Danny. I'm here to speak with your king."

Her teeth remain bared. "You are a man. Your kind hunts ours down."

Danny's eyebrows raised. "Really? I thought I was the only man in this world." He was going off on a tangent, and realized it. "Back to the point, I am a human. But I saved the king's son. I even know the king and prince's name."

The lioness still had her teeth bared, but not as wide as before. "Prove it."

"The king's name is Aren and the prince is Malka. I saved Malka from…other beings not too long ago. Your queen, Jayden…I mean, Jaydi, came to bring him back a little over a week ago."

Suddenly, all of the lionesses ceased growling. The head lioness' expression went from aggression to apologetic. "So, you're the rescuer. They didn't say what you were. Are you from Mufasa's pride?"

Danny lowered his head. "Technically, yes. But it's no longer his pride. That's why I need to speak with Aren."

"He's down by the lake with the queen and prince."

"Could you take me to them?" Danny asked.

The lioness bowed low. "I would be honored to escort the favored one of the king." The rest of the lionesses bowed low.

Danny found the whole thing a bit awkward. "Uh, yeah. Let's go. By the way, what's your name?"

The lioness smiled. "Winda."

Winda led the way with the lionesses escorting Danny on his speeder bike. They passed through lush green, lands filled with trees of fruit and leaves that made Danny yearn for some fruit. They came to the lake. Already, Danny could pick out King Aren. _Malka looks just like him._ Aren was already up from hearing the unusual noise of Danny's speeder bike. He growled when Danny came near. "Who is this you have brought, Winda?"

Danny answered for her as he got off the bike. "I am Danny, I believe…"

"Danny!" Danny couldn't even finish as Malka ran up to him from the side. "I knew you'd come visit." Malka licked his hand.

Danny rubbed his head roughly. "Hey, little brother. How've you been?"

"Kinda bored since I came home, but the other cubs are not that bad. What are you doing here?"

Danny fought hard to keep a neutral face, but Aren and Malka could tell something was not right. "That's actually what I came to talk to your father about."

Aren stepped forward. "So I take it you are the one who my queen told me rescued Malka?"

Danny nodded. "Indeed, I am."

Aren smiled. "Forgive me. I didn't know."

"It's alright."

"What is it you wanted to see me for?"

Danny sat down and told about Mufasa's death and how his brother Scar took over. He told Aren about Scar's plan to kill all cubs and how he escaped with them. Malka was shocked to hear about Mufasa and Simba. He had been close to Simba, but Danny kept his hopes up that Simba's body wasn't found. He tried to fight his tears back, but it did no good. He finished up with the request. "I would humbly ask you to take in some of our cubs until they've grown up and can return to help us."

Aren was taking aback by this. "What? You want me to raise Mufasa's cubs?"

Danny was pleading. "At least until they've reached full adulthood. That's all I ask."

"I'm sorry, but I…"

Jaydi intervened. "Aren, please. He saved our son's life. We owe him at least this much. You said our pride and Mufasa's pride were allies. Let's welcome our allies in for refuge."

Danny was so thankful Jaydi pleaded for their case. Aren thought this over. "Very well, you're cubs may stay here. When they reach adulthood…"

"I'll come for them, your Highness." He opened the container. "The cubs staying here are Mheetu and Tama." He pulled out both cubs and let them down on the ground. He turned to the cubs. "You will obey any and every command from King Aren or Queen Jaydi. Do you both understand?"

"We understand," they said.

Mheetu, who learned from the lionesses, gave Danny a high-five. "Thanks for everything, Danny."

Tama rubbed her body against Danny's leg. "We'll miss you."

He hugged both of them. "I'll miss you too. Now go play with Malka."

They immediately went running away with Malka, who was staying very close to Tama. Danny smiled. _I guess they do like each other._ He turned to Aren and Jaydi. "Thank you both. I will return for them when the time is right."

Aren smiled. "You saved our son. It is us who should be thankful. Where are you going now?"

Danny hopped on his bike. "To King Jabari's pride. They will raise the other cubs. Afterwards, I must return to my pride. My duties are still there."

Aren pointed in the direction of the morning sun. "Jabari is on the shore in the direction of the sun. It's a day's journey from here."

"You've been most helpful, your Majesty." He started up his bike.

Jaydi asked one more question. "Is there anything else we can do?"

Danny was silent for a long moment. "Pray." He gunned the engines and took off. He wished he could say goodbye to Malka, but he had a job to do. Malka would understand.

* * *

Danny reached the shores in less than three hours. Jabari and Alijiah were glad to see him, but were saddened to hear the events that had taken place back at the Pride Lands. When he explained the need to take in the cubs, they were more than happy to take them in. Tojo, Chumvi, and Kula were immediately welcomed into the pride. Danny said his goodbyes and promised to return for them. He headed back for the Pride Lands on the double. Leaving the cubs hurt him. He had become so close to them, and from leaving them to losing Mufasa to having Scar rule the lands made him cry as he sped along back to the Pride Lands.

He didn't quite have his emotions vented from the other day, and now without the cubs watching, he could break down and cry. He stopped so he wouldn't crash. Danny dropped to his knees and bawled his eyes out. As far as he knew, his blood family was dead. His second father Mufasa was dead, his little brother Simba all but confirmed dead, and the cubs now out of the pride except for some female cubs. With only his second mother Sarabi and his will to live and fight for the lionesses, he had nothing left. He had never felt so lost and alone before.

Danny recovered and made it back to the Pride Lands by nightfall. He went into his ship and stuffed his cargo container with hygiene products, ammunition, MRE's, and water. He didn't find the lionesses in the cave so he went out among the land to find him. He used his night vision to find them and avoid hyena entanglements. The lionesses were sleeping in a cave not too far from Pride Rock. Danny joined them and fell asleep.

Sarabi woke up at dawn. The other lionesses were getting up from their sleep. They had gone over a hectic and horrible few days. They had lost their king, and Sarabi's mate. Scar had taken over, and allowed the hyenas to roam the Pride Lands. Many animals fell prey to them, and some herds were already leaving the land. For the last couple of nights, Sarabi cried herself to sleep. Danny came in the other night and set his sleeping bag next to her. It made her feel like life was still worth living with her surrogate son still alive.

She came out of the cave to see Danny. He was facing the rising sun, looking out towards the land on the other side of the Pride Land borders. _I wonder what he's thinking about?_ Sarafina and the other lionesses came out behind her. They too noticed Danny and walked towards him. Sarabi walked up behind Danny. "Danny, is everything good?"

Danny was silent for a moment, but his eyes remained on the rising sun. He was thinking about what he had found at the edge of the Pride Lands. "Yeah. Jabari and Aren took the cubs in. When they have grown up, I will bring them back here. Maybe they can help us."

Sarabi frowned. "Is there something else on your mind?"

Danny nodded. "Yeah, it's about what Scar told us that night he became king. He said Mufasa and Simba were killed."

"What of it?"

"I don't believe him." He turned to face them. "I think he's lying about something."

Sarafina answered. "About everything?"

"About Simba." Danny now had their attention, especially Sarabi's. "When I was in the gorge, I saw Mufasa's body myself. That much is true. But I saw small footprints leading away from him. I followed them until the wind covered up the prints. I never found Simba's body."

A look of newfound hope appeared on Sarabi's face. "So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that I think Simba is still alive…" He waved toward the sun. "…out there somewhere."

The lionesses began chattering with each other. Sarafina, who was trying to control a now joyful Nala, said, "So what's your plan?"

Danny walked over to his bike and strapped everything down tight. "My plan is to go out and search for him in the surrounding areas. If I do find him, I'll bring him back. We'll keep it a secret, and we'll train him up until he's ready. But let's focus one step at a time. I'm going to go out a few days and then come back to help out here. Maybe I'll go out for one day and come back later."

"Danny." He turned around to Sarabi's ever caring face. "Please be careful. I've already lost my mate and son. I will not lose my other son as well."

Danny came and pulled her into an embrace. "I'll be on my guard 24/7." He gave all of the lionesses hugs and then walked over to his speeder bike. "I won't be long…I promise." He sat down on his bike and powered it up. Gunning the engines, Danny took off. This search might only take days. It might take years. But all Danny knew was that Simba was not confirmed dead, and that was good enough for him to believe that his little brother was still alive. He blasted across the desert in search of Simba.

But one thing was for sure: this period of time with Scar as king was not going to be good. Not in the least.


	10. The Rise of Tyranny

Chapter 10-The Rise of Tyranny

_Three years later…_

"Funny thing about a dream…when you're asleep, no matter what happens, no matter how crazy it might be, it all seems to make sense. I was there, when a great king named Mufasa fell to his death…but I didn't wake up. I cheered when I was welcomed by him, to a kingdom and home that had come together in the name of peace. Race, politics, and religion no longer mattered."

At the edge of a jungle, there was a campfire set up. A lone, shadowy figure sat at the edge of the fire with a tape recorder in its hand. "I should've known it was too good to be true…and maybe it was." He picked up a picture that he took. A photo of a brown-furred lion by the name of Taka, better known as Scar. "And when one single tyrant rose to power, to rule the entire Pride Land nation. I watched it all happen. That's when the dream turned into a nightmare, and in that instant in a dream when you fall to the ground hundreds of feet below…that's when I should've sat bolt upright in my bed, back home with my family."

He paused. "But I didn't. Now, I can only hope that I'm not trapped here forever. That I'm not already dead, spending an eternity in hell. I can only pray, that God decides to wake me soon from this nightmare." He turned off the recording and placed the recorder back in his backpack. Turning back to face the fire to keep warm, was Danny Manning. His hair and beard had grown out, with his hair no longer the high-and-tight, but a shaggy, skater type hair. Now, the boy bore a scar over his right eye: dual claw marks running parallel together, running down from the middle of his eyebrows over his eye to his cheek. He bundled up in his blanket, trying to stay warm. _God, help us._

* * *

_Previously…_

It had been eleven months in passing since the day when Mufasa had passed away and Scar had taken the throne. The once great Pride Lands had slowly deteriorated into a desolate wasteland. Herds had moved on because of the great danger of the hyenas roaming the land freely. What little food in the form of prey were now on the outskirts of the Pride Lands. The lionesses were ordered to hunt for the hyenas by Scar's order. Nala had grown up and was becoming a promising huntress, taught by Sarafina and Sarabi. Other young lionesses were performing superb, but hunger was beginning to effect their hunting.

Scar, meanwhile, did virtually nothing. He seemed to enjoy the power and title of king, but didn't seem to care as far as responsibility went. He and Zira would just sit around in the cave, doing nothing except eat, sleep and enjoy each other's company. No one else was allowed inside, not even the lionesses. Zazu, the majordomo, was imprisoned in a rib cage. Basically, Scar showed very few good qualities as a leader.

Danny, meanwhile, went out on searches for Simba. Sometimes he went out on searches that lasted one day, sometimes they would last a week. But so far, he found nothing. It was frustrating, but he never gave up. With food being more and more scarce, he was more dependent on his MRE's, but still needed to eat regular food because he would eventually run out. Now, he would go out and hunt animals for him and the pride to eat so they wouldn't go hungry.

The deterioration of the lands made his hygiene and exercise routines a lot harder. The waterhole he showered in was now filthy, making it pointless to drink or bathe in. The lions and hyenas could easily hydrate themselves from the fluids of their prey, but Danny could not. Whenever he found a waterhole, he would take the opportunity to bathe and drink out of it. He would take the oil pan for his ship and use it as a drinking bowl for the lionesses, providing them with something to drink.

One day, Danny came back from outside the Pride Lands. It was evening, and he was near a hill at the boundaries of the Pride Lands. He checked his surroundings, making sure nobody could see him. He didn't want the hyenas to find out about this location. As usual, the hyenas were their lazy selves, hanging around Pride Rock. No one else was in sight, so he pushed his bike into a brush of dead trees. Inside were all of the lionesses, waiting around for him.

He picked up the wildebeest carcass he caught and set it down. "Here you girls go. There's plenty for everyone, so dig in." As they began eating, Danny also picked up the oil pan, which he placed the cap on during the trip to keep it from spilling, and set it down nearby. He had already eaten some of the meat, so he was good. He ate a few pouches from an MRE and kept watch while they were dining on the food. He had been doing this for the last few months, and they had been very grateful for his actions.

When they were finished eating, they all grouped together. Danny remained standing. Sarabi spoke first, directed at Danny. "Have you found him?"

Danny shook his head. "No, I haven't found him. I've looked almost everywhere within ten miles, I'm planning to begin beyond the outside regions."

Chinaka was upset. "Hasn't this gone on long enough? You've been searching for months and haven't found anything. We need to start planning on us."

Sarabi interjected. "We are, Chinaka. By staying alive until the cubs grow and be able to challenge Scar for the throne."

"Knowing Scar, he's probably going to play dirty in challenges for the throne," Sarafina said. "He'll probably send his hyenas to do the dirty work for him."

"But what about Danny?" Nala asked.

Danny turned to face her. "What about me?"

"Why don't you challenge Scar for the throne?"

"Simple…I'm not a lion. I'm a human being. Besides, he'd probably send all of his hyenas to kill me. I can take a good number of them with my rifle, but not all of them."

Zainabu intervened. "But you're one of us. You have just as much an equal right to challenge Scar as another male lion. I'd rather see you as king than some scumbag like Scar."

All of the other lionesses agreed. They clearly supported Danny to be the new king. Danny sighed. "Even so, Scar would take it from a one-on-one to a lions vs. hyenas war."

Zainabu nodded. "We're still with you all the way."

"No," Danny said vehemently. "A single lioness can take on multiple hyenas, but we don't have enough to take on all of the hyenas." His voice became pleading. "I will not lose you in a slaughter. You are the only family I have left. There may be a time, but it's not now."

Takiyah, the nearly white-furred lioness, said, "But Scar is a horrible…"

Danny stopped her, but kept his voice calm. "Don't you think I know what he is? Trust me, I hate that guy's guts. My own personal feelings and hunches go as far as to say that _he _killed Mufasa and possibly Simba. If they were proven, I would go to Pride Rock and kill him on the spot. But the problem is that all I have is speculation and personal opinions. If I kill him, I'm no better than he is. Right now, we have to wait until the cubs are ready."

"That could be a long time." That was Kamaria, one of the senior lionesses. "It could be two years until they're ready." The others agreed, not sure if they would wait that long.

Danny held up his hand. "I know, but I never said I wasn't thinking of drawing up other strategies." It was the only answer he could come up with, but it would buy some time for him to think. However, if he didn't have anything soon, then time would be very scarce.

The meeting ended and the others went to sleep from their big meal. Danny, Sarabi, Sarafina, and Kamaria all went outside. They had some matters to discuss. Danny looked at Sarabi. "What's the status of the young lionesses?"

"Nala is sharpening her skills everyday and even helping the others with what they are weak in. She has the makings of a leader for the lionesses in the future. Geena is steadily improving with experience, as are Shani and Aziza. The others are work in progress."

Danny remembered something. "What's the situation with Scar and Zira? Last I heard, Zira was rumored to be pregnant."

"It is true. She is not due for another couple of months."

"Great, now he's got an heir or heiress in the wings. Kamaria, what is going on in the Pride Lands?"

Kamaria came up to him. "Same as always. The land is still a wasteland, with the hyenas roaming the lands. Occasionally, there is a stray animal that we hunt down, but the hyenas come afterwards and claim it. We've been slowly starving, in spite of your efforts to bring in prey. I'd say within two and a half years, we'll all starve."

Danny hated hearing news like that. But that was the truth. Scar did not take good care of the lands, and allowing freedom for the hyenas did not help the matter. "Alright, well that means I'm running out of time to think of a strategy to take Scar down."

Sarafina looked up at him with her blue eyes. "It might be your only option, but how do we deal with the hyenas?"

Danny looked back at her. "Leave that to me. I'm going to Pride Rock to see what's going on there. Maybe I can get an idea on how the hyenas stand on their king."

"How are you going to do that?"

"I'm going to drive my speeder around the back end and climb to the front and listen in above the cave."

"Just be careful. We don't wanna lose you," Kamaria said.

Danny smiled. "I appreciate that. I'll be back soon."

* * *

Danny went around the wide side of the Pride Lands to avoid being noticed. When reaching the back of Pride Rock, he shut off his engine and began climbing. It was a lot taller than it looked, but he found some small slopes that allowed him to climb easier. He began to climb around Pride Rock. Making his way slowly around the huge rock, he took his time in order to not fall off the edge.

He reached the cave. It appeared that not even the hyenas could come up on Pride Rock unless they had news. As he took cover behind a rock over the cave, he saw the hyena trio, Ed, Shenzei, and Bonzai head in. Danny heard Bonzai say, "Hey boss. We got a bone to pick with you."

Then Shenzei's voice. "Scar, there's no food, no water."

"Yeah," Bonzai added in. "It's dinner time, and we ain't got no stinkin' entrees."

Scar sighed exasperatedly. "It's the lioness' job to do the hunting."

"Yeah, well they won't go hunt," he complained."Oh, eat Zazu."

Suddenly, Danny heard Zazu started making excuses. "Oh no, you don't want me. I'd be too tough and gamy and…"

Scar laughed. "Don't be ridiculous, Zazu. All you need is a little dung…what did you say!?" His voice changed from laughing to anger.

"I said, uh…que pasa?" Bonzai said.

"Good, now get out."

Danny heard their footsteps coming closer. Bonzai spoke again. "Yeah, but…w-we're still hungry."

"OUT!" They all left in a hurry, with Ed laughing maniacally behind them.

Danny smiled. _Good, dissention is starting. This just might work._ He began making his way back to the speeder bike. It wasn't as long, since he still had the path in his head. He reached the bottom and headed back on his speeder.

Danny reached the cave in an hour. But what he saw was not pleasing. At the top of the hill, he saw half of the lionesses wounded. Sarafina was one of them. The others all sat there, looking down at the ground. There were claw and bite marks on all of the wounded. Danny could see a large amount of blood near Sarafina. Nala was sitting very close to her mother, crying bitterly.

Danny got off his bike and ran to them. He looked at Sarabi. "What the heck happened?"

Sarabi had tears streaming down her face. "Scar found out you were spying on him. He sent a group of hyenas out to punish us because of that."

Danny was shocked. "What?" He thought he was hearing things.

"They attacked half of us and Scar forbade us from having Rafiki treat them."

Danny's emotions began to rage out of control. "Yeah, we'll see about that. I'm going to get him. His tree is not that far away. I'll get him and have him treat the others." Without waiting for a response, he hopped on his bike and took off.

He reached his tree and requested that he treat the wounded lionesses. Rafiki, who was still grieving Mufasa's death, agreed. He appeared to be sane and normal. To Danny, it seemed almost strange to see him like this. Rafiki grabbed what he could and put it on Danny's bike. Danny placed it in his container and took off with Rafiki on board. They arrived and Rafiki went to work. Immediately, they were feeling better.

Rafiki came to Danny and put his arms around him. "I did wat I could, but…der's nothing I can do for Sarafina. She won't make it."

Danny felt a dagger rip through his heart. He was going to lose the closest thing he had to an aunt. "W-What?" He choked the word out.

Rafiki dropped his head. "I'm sorry, but I have done everyting I can. If you need anyting else, my king, let me know."

Danny frowned. "King?"

"You are da true king. Being Mufasa's young boy, you are da rightful king." He walked off back to his tree.

Danny mulled this over. A king? He didn't know what to say. But his thoughts soon were drawn to Sarafina. He walked over to her body. The other lionesses were gathered around her. Danny pushed his way through and knelt down beside her. He slowly brought her head up so he could see her eyes. A tear ran down his cheek. "Sarafina, I am so sorry…that this happened to you. I should never have listened in on Scar."

Sarafina brought a paw on his face. "Hush, Danny. You did what you thought was right. Now, I'm going to be with my son Kadeem very soon."

Danny brushed her face gently. "Don't say that, you will survive."

"Danny, promise me one thing."

"Name it." Danny fought back the tears as she began fading from this life.

"Take care of my Nala," she said weakly.

Danny continued to caress her face. "You've got it."

She looked at her daughter. "I love you, Nala."

Nala looked at her with tears in her eyes. "I love you, mom."

With a smile, she turned to Danny. "I know you will be king soon. I know you…will…" With that she breathed her last.

Danny's tears flowed unchecked. Sarafina had passed away. He held her tightly. Scar had taken yet another part of his family away, and it was because of himself. He let out an agonized cry, out of grief and emotional pain. He turned to Nala. She was crying her eyes out. Danny suddenly realized that while Sarafina was _like _an aunt to him, she was Nala's actual mother. He pulled her close to him and held her tightly, trying to comfort her.

He looked among the other lionesses. They all wore dejected looks; they were looking for someone like him to free them of Scar's grip. Now, they had another loss on their hands. Danny realized that patience required prices, and this was one of them. This was the price of patience.

* * *

A week had passed. The lionesses held a funeral service for Sarafina. Sarabi gave the eulogy on Sarafina's life. Danny truly didn't even know the half of her. She was truly wonderful in her life. Danny only wished she knew Sarafina a couple years ago. He stood by Nala during the funeral to keep her comfort. She nudged her head under his hand, and he felt the tears dripping on his palm. He dropped to a knee and pulled one arm around her.

Soon, the ceremony was over, and Danny walked with Nala alone. She didn't want to be with anyone else but him, because she saw him as not only a big brother, but a father she never had. They were walking along a half-dried ravine. Danny kept a casual pace. "Remember when we went down here to play hide-and-seek?"

Nala nodded, her smile was there, but barely. "Yeah, even Simba was able to get away from you."

"Remember when your mom didn't even know what was going on? She came out and scared the crap out of me and I fell into the water."

Nala started laughing. "Yeah, and you came up with a huge piece of grass on your face." She went silent and her smile faded.

Danny realized it and looked down at her, but kept walking. "Hey, your mom's gone, but she's in a better place. I know what it's like to lose a mother. Heck, I know what's like now to be without a father as well. I even had siblings…two younger sisters."

"What were they like? Did you play with them when you were younger like you played with me and Simba?"

Danny smiled sheepishly. "I did when I was very young, about ten years at least. Then we got older and hung out with our own friends."

Nala looked at him curiously. "How do you remember them by?"

Danny thought it over. How would he answer this? There were so many in his mind, but something did come to them. "I remember them by the last memorable moment I had with them."

"Tell me about it." Nala looked very interested.

Danny nodded. He believed it would help offset her loss. "Well, I was sleeping. And we had our cousin over to spend a night at our house. His name was Sean. Anyway, my sisters woke me up. They said they had something special for me. I got up and we went into our shed. Sean was in there…"

He started. "…with Brianna Farrell." He started chuckling. "Picture a female that took a nosedive off of the ugly tree and hit every branch coming down."

Nala frowned. "Huh?"

"It means she was very ugly," Danny replied still laughing. "Anyway, they were kissing. It's how we show our affection to each other. I could tell she and my cousin were soon to be having…" Then he realized who he was telling it to. He stammered for a second. "Uh, they were about to mate." His laughing returned to them. "They were just about to when my older of my two younger sisters, Raechel, suddenly shouted, 'Sean, you're a young man. Don't do it!'."

Nala was starting to giggle. "She said that!? How did Sean react?"

Danny tried to quell his laughter. "Well, Brianna suddenly hears this voice and screams. But she had her shirt up and runs into a wall and knocks herself out. And Sean is so angry now that this happened. He looks around and picks up a shovel and he's going after Raechel. Rae says, 'What are you trying to hit me for? I just did ya a favor.'" His laughing stopped. He kept a smile, but his cheerfulness was all but gone. "That-that was it. I went off to flight school for my ship two days later."

Nala nodded. "That must've been great to have siblings. I never had any."

Danny's smile widened. "That's where you're wrong. You had not only sisters, but brothers as well. You had Tojo, Chumvi, Mheetu, and Malka as brothers, and Kula and Tama as sisters. Simba was your best friend."

Nala's face turned red. "Well, about Simba. Yeah, he was my friend, but I, uh…"

Danny had caught it immediately. "You had a crush on him, didn't you?"

"Yeah, I didn't want to let him know because I didn't want our friendship to feel awkward if he didn't feel the same."

Danny stretched his legs. "That's typical of guys. When we're young, we don't think about that. We think about having fun. Girls think about it when they're still young. But I think he would've felt the same way a few years from now."

"Now it won't happen," Nala said, her head was hung low.

"Don't worry. I believe he's still alive, and unless I find his carcass, he's still alive. I'll keep searching for him."

Nala smiled. No matter how sad she felt, Danny was always able to keep her in good heart. The question was: would it be enough for them to make through the next couple of years?


	11. Moving On

Chapter 11-Moving On

Another fifteen months had passed. Danny had turned nineteen shortly after Sarafina's death, and turned twenty during that fifteen-month span. It didn't mean much, but Sarabi, Nala, Kamaria, and Zainabu celebrated both of them with him. Things, other than that, were looking bleak. Danny woke up from the cave a little later than usual.

He put on some new clothes and stepped outside into the blistering heat. Hunger was already nibbling at him, but he had to ration out his food supplies. He was almost out of his own food, and wouldn't eat smaller prey so that the lionesses could eat as much as they could. Danny walked outside. Berhane and Kamaria were outside with Sarabi. Danny walked up to them. "Did you get a good night's sleep?"

Berhane nodded glumly. "As good as any hungry lioness can right now."

"I hear you," Danny said. He sat down and pulled out his ka-bar knife. It was getting rough around the edges, and he needed to smooth out the blade. He picked up a smooth stone and began sharpening the blade. "What's going on right now?"

Sarabi shook her head, frowning. "Scar wants us to find some food for him. The others are over by the hill, ready for us to begin the hunt."

Danny was getting aggravated already. The situation with Scar had made him very edgy over the months. "Doesn't he ever get bored of just sitting in that cave?"

"Apparently not," Kamaria replied. "He just snoozes away time."

Sparks flew from the friction of the stone and blade as Danny looked up. "Well, let me finish with this and we'll go get King Clunker his food."

Sarabi laughed. "You like to call him names, don't you? It's kind of entertaining."

"Anything to keep hunger and boredom from getting to me," Danny said. He blew the metal dust from the knife and began working the other side. "Who's leading what hunting party?"

Sarabi pointed to herself. "Well, I'm taking the lead party. Kamaria will take the second. Berhane will take the third, and we want you to form a fourth party."

Danny frowned. "A fourth party? What for?"

Sarabi scratched her ear with her paw. "Well, since there isn't much food around, splitting up would make things much better. You take your group and head to the south border. Hopefully we'll have two kills, one for Scar and his bunch and one for us."

Danny understood. "I see your point. Alright, I'll take Takiyah, Nala, and Dembe. My weapons are all dirty and I need to clean them, so I'll only be taking my knife."

"Alright, then. Kamaria, send for them and pick your group. Then I'll pick and Berhane will have the rest."

Danny got up and headed to his speeder. He had kept it in the shade to keep the engine cool to avoid overheating or drying the fuel cells altogether. Even though the cells recharged, if they went dry that would be it. He powered it up and noticed the engine temperature was at fifteen percent. He would have to find some shade wherever they went. Danny hopped on as the three lionesses came to him. "Let's go."

* * *

They headed out for the south side. Normally, Danny would be there in half an hour. But with the lionesses not being able to keep up the pace consistently, it took considerably longer. Danny took the time to think things over. Most of his thoughts were centered around his family.

He remembered how his father, Dennis Manning, would take him to watch a football game in the sports bar on the weekends. They would dress up with their favorite team and watch them play. It was an activity Danny always loved to do. But business got in the way of him and his father. He never blamed his dad for it, but Danny didn't like the way the business was working him when he could've trained someone up to snuff to shoulder a portion of the responsibilities.

Danny's mother Gabrielle was the mother of mothers. She was always caring for her children and even helped others. She showed wisdom when it was needed, and scolded and disciplined at the appropriate times. Danny spent a lot of time with her, but always felt closer to his father. Sarabi was the closest person he had to a mother, and even resembled her in character and actions.

Raechel and Callie were always around, and it wasn't necessarily a good thing. They had their fights growing up, but still had fun with each other. Danny grew more into sports and video games while the girls were into horses and makeup. The one thing they all were into were cars. Raechel loved pickup trucks while Callie favored muscle cars. Danny had a taste for muscle cars, but preferred exotic sports cars over any kind.

Right now, Danny didn't have them. He just wondered if he would ever see them again. Danny was cruising over near some tall grass, what was left of it anyway, and looked around. He spotted a rhinoceros in the distance and turned to the tree off to his left and parked it in the shade. He, Nala, Takiyah, and Dembe all huddled up. Danny got down on a knee. "Okay, did everyone see the rhino?"

Dembe and Takiyah nodded, but Nala didn't. "Where is it?"

Danny pointed to the right. "It's right there, see it?"

"Okay, I see it now."

Danny took a stick and drew in the sand. He marked an X. "This is where we are." He drew an O. "This is the rhino." He then drew three lines that ended up surrounding the O. "Dembe, you sneak around all the way to the rear. Go." As she left, Danny pointed to Nala. "Nala, you take the left. Takiyah, take the right."

Nala noticed he wasn't carrying his pistol or rifle. "What do you plan to do?"

"I'll wait here in the grass for it. You three will herd it over to me. Either you can kill it yourselves, or I will throw my knife at it. Last option is to jump on top of it."

Takiyah nodded. "Alright, just don't get yourself killed."

Danny smirked, even though hunger was starting to drive his patience to the breaking point. "Not planning on it, now go."

They split off in their directions. Danny remained hidden in the grass. Part of him knew he had to be patient, but hunger was getting to him and he didn't know how long before he broke. Trying to stay hidden was easy, trying to stay hidden while starving was not. The rhino was slowly heading towards him, not knowing that three lionesses had him surrounded. Danny fought the hunger as best as he could, but gave in to it. Before the lionesses were in place, Danny came running out from his spot and charged the rhino.

The rhino began to hear and smell him coming, but instead of running, it charged him. The lionesses, who were confused by Danny's blunder, jumped from their positions and chased after the rhino. Danny's distance closed much faster to the rhino. With one giant swing, he flung his knife at the rhino. The knife hit the rhino blunt end first and bounced off. Danny had missed. But he couldn't dwell on that now. The rhino wasn't stopping. Danny jumped to the side to avoid the rhino's sharp horn. The rhino went by, and so did the lionesses.

Dembe jumped on the back of the rhino, but its tough skin made it hard for her teeth to penetrate. Nala and Takiyah got in front of it to isolate him. Danny quickly ran to where he knife was. "Ugh, I'm such an idiot." He only hoped this wouldn't cost their meal. He turned around and ran, determined to kill the rhinoceros. He didn't dare think of failing his hunting party if the rhino got away. He closed in to where the rhino was stopped. It flung Dembe off its back and stomped its hoofs, ready for another charge. But before it did, Danny jumped on top. Unlike Dembe, Danny had an advantage in balance and center of gravity as far as staying on the rhino's back.

The animal tried to get Danny off but it did no good. Danny found a weak spot in the rhino's neck and plunged the knife into its neck. It roared in pain, but Danny kept plunging his weapon over and over. The rhino kept jumping like mad to get him off, but Danny held on tight. Finally, the rhino succumbed to the pain and fell down. Nala jumped on it first and strangulated the creature until it died.

Danny got up. It took him a second to realize what had happened. _I failed. I failed to kill it on my first throw. _He fell to his knees. He drove the knife into the ground. "Damn it!" He cursed.

Nala looked up at him. "What's wrong? You killed the prey. Now we have something to eat."

Danny looked up at her. "I jumped the gun. I couldn't control myself. I was so hungry that I ran out before the three of you were in position. I could've gotten someone killed. And if that rhino got away, it would be because I couldn't wait."

Takiyah shrugged. "Just take it as a learning lesson. Everybody makes mistakes. Thankfully, it didn't cost our food or our lives."

Danny looked up. "I just don't want to lose anyone else. You are my family and I don't want to lose it again."

Dembe smiled at him as Nala and Takiyah began eating. "We appreciate your concern. A king should always watch out for his people."

Danny frowned as he got up. "But I'm not a king."

Dembe's eyes sparkled. "You are to us. Now let's eat."

"Yes, let's." Everyone turned to see Scar and a pregnant Zira along with a hyena detachment coming up to them. Scar smiled. "Well, well. You've caught a fine meal for us. Our congratulations to you."

Danny glared at Scar, but his attitude compounded when Zira came up and slapped Takiyah in the face. "You wait your turn, Takiyah!"

This started a fight between them. Nala and Dembe dealt with the hyenas. Scar couldn't get to Zira because of the fight in between them. Danny pulled out his knife from the rhino's neck, but couldn't make a move. He didn't want to accidentally injure or kill one of the lionesses. Danny could clearly see Takiyah was winning due to Zira's pregnancy, but both were savagely tearing each other apart.

Scar looked at Danny. "Stop them!" He ordered.

Danny looked at him as if Scar told him to jump into a flaming tar pit. "How? Use my intensifying stare? Just roar to them to stop before someone gets killed."

Scar let out a roar. It was nowhere near as powerful as Mufasa's was, but it got the message across. The hyenas moved to one side while Nala and Dembe moved to where Danny was. Takiyah and Zira were both lying on the ground. They were severely injured, and barely moving. Takiyah's eyes were closed and her breaths were short and fast. Zira on the other hand, was active and alert. She was moaning in pain, and tears were falling down her face. A huge blood stain on her stomach matted her fur.

Scar came to her aid. "Zira, my queen, do you need Rafiki?"

"Yes," Zira's eyes were pathetic. "Scar…the cubs are gone."

Scar's eyes went wide. "What!?"

"I can feel it. I had a miscarriage from the fight." She cried.

Scar's features twisted into an unrecognizable form. He was clearly angry that his new future line of cubs were gone. He went over to Takiyah. "You! You took away my children!" He jumped on top of her. Danny, Nala, and Dembe tried to advance, but the hyenas blocked their path. Danny considered throwing his knife, but that would leave him defenseless. There was nothing he could do. Scar raised his paw, claws unsheathed. "Now, you will pay with your life, you little wench!" He swiped his claws across her throat, killing her instantly.

"NO!" Danny shouted. But it was too late. Takiyah was dead. He had failed to protect his family for the second time. _If only I had my pistol. _One word echoed through his head.

Useless.

Danny refused to believe it. He looked at Scar. "You monster…she didn't start it. If it wasn't for Zira, everyone would've been fine."

Scar's anger didn't waver. "She shouldn't have been eating before the queen, especially since she was PREGNANT!"

Danny should've withdrawn after Scar shouted that last word, but he didn't. "What's wrong with saying that instead of just swiping her out of the way?"

Scar didn't listen to him. He ordered the rest of the hyenas to carry Zira and the rhinoceros carcass back, except one. He told that one to get Rafiki. They all left the area, leaving Danny, Nala, and Dembe with Takiyah's body. Danny sat down and held her lifeless head in his arms. His tears stung his eyes as he cradled her head. "I'm so sorry. I can't believe I didn't do anything."

Nala, despite her crying, came up and reassured him. "There was nothing you could've done. If you did, you would've been killed. Then who would lead us?"

Danny understood, but it didn't make him feel any better about the situation. Takiyah was still dead. "Get her body. Let's get out of here."

Nala and Dembe picked up Takiyah's body and they headed back to Danny's bike. Danny shook his head. He was losing family, and for the third time, he failed to protect them. Danny was starting to feel as though he was a failure as a leader.

* * *

They returned to the cave later in the afternoon. The pride was saddened to hear of the loss of Takiyah. Danny felt like crap, and Sarabi did her best to help him. They held the funeral for Takiyah and gave their respects to her. Sarabi did have some good news. They had caught two stray wildebeests and gave the extra meat for Danny and his group. They ate and were filled up soon.

Later that night, Danny sat on top of the hill where the cave was. He pulled out the recording device he kept with him. "Hey, dad. I really wish you were here right now. I've been leading the pride for a long time. Everyone looks to me for leadership. Everyone looks up to me and depends on me. But I've already lost two lionesses, and I couldn't do anything to protect them." He stopped as he sobbed. He wasn't sure if he could keep going with the recording. "I…I need…something to help me. Even advice on what to do. I feel like I'm in quicksand. I'm leading, and think everything will be fine, but something goes wrong. And then another, and another. I try to fight back, but the harder I fight, the deeper I sink…until I can't move…can't breathe…because I'm in over my head, like quicksand."

Danny held the crying in check. "I don't know what to do. I just wish you were here even for a few minutes to tell me what to do. I need some help, because if I break, I don't know what will happen to the pride. I just want you and Mufasa back." He turned off the recording tape and headed back down to the cave for some sleep.

* * *

The post was one of the more smaller bases, but no less important. It was a recently established post, but convened in secret. It was Fort Saratoga, located in upstate New York. Those who were there for training were given high security clearance so long as no information was leaked to the public. Most of the new future warrior weapons and vehicles were developed and tested there. One of the biggest research and development companies was Manning Corporations, or ManCorp. The president, Dennis Manning, had drawn up the designs of a new aircraft. Meant for the Army and Marine Corps, the aircraft was a transport/heavy weapons mobile platform, designed to carry heavy supplies and ammunition, and armed to the teeth for combat support.

Dennis had dubbed it an _Axalon_-class transport/fighter. After he had given the designs, he gave the prototype to his son, Danny. It was Danny's seventeenth birthday and his father sent him to Fort Saratoga for immediate flight school. Danny had excelled in learning the ship during his training, and studied it during his free time, except when his football team played every now and then.

One day, Danny was finishing his flight simulation in the building Howe Hall. He got out and met the training instructor, Captain Walker. Walker was a well decorated pilot in his day, and now served as an instructor. He shook Danny's hand. "Good job, son. For a non-military jackball, you sure have some skill. Got me eight out of nine times in combat, and your flying skills for normal flight is excellent. We might be able to fast-track you and get your pilot commission sooner than you think."

Danny smiled. "Thank you, sir. That would be great."

Suddenly, a new voice caused both of them to look to their left. "That definitely would be great." Dennis Manning walked up to them. "Do you mind if I have some personal time with my son, Captain?"

Walker nodded. "Sure thing, Mr. Manning. I'll give a half hour break. Daniel, be back here on the mark."

Daniel nodded. "Yes, sir."

The two Manning's walked outside to view the scene outside the building. They went to a park right outside. Walking down the sidewalk, Dennis smiled at Danny. "How's the training, son?"

Danny smiled but didn't look back. "Oh, it's been good. They seem to think that I'll graduate sooner than expected with this prototype ship. What about you?"

Dennis smiled glumly. "Well, I'm taking a personal vacation. Your mother and sisters are coming with me on a safari in Africa. We leave tomorrow." He could see the hurt in his son's expression at not spending time with him and explained. "I wanted to spend time with you, but this was the only time I could spend my vacation. My staff and I have big projects coming up. I tried to schedule some leave from training, but they weren't able to do so."

Danny was hurt. This was just one more opportunity lost from the two of them to spend time together. "Yet another obstacle in between family."

"I wish things could be different, but they want you to finish training on the ship. At least its yours."

"Thanks for the birthday gift, dad."

"Well, since I haven't been able to see you that much in life and thought I had to make up with it something."

Danny stopped them. "It never was about things, dad. I just wish you would train someone on what you do so you could spend more time with me, like watching a football game or play video games."

"You're right and I'm sorry. But you can't train someone on how much brains you got."

"Ain't that the truth," Danny said. "I just wish it wasn't that way."

Dennis hung his head a little. "Son, I can't help being who I am."

Danny laughed. "It's not who you are, Dad. I love who you are." He stopped and pointed at him. "It's being son of you…" They both chuckled. Danny searched for the words. "Look, I…I can't be your kind of hero."

Dennis nodded. "You're right. You can't be. Each man gets a chance to be his own kind of hero. Your time will come and when it does, watch out. Chances are likely it'll be the last thing you ever expected." He managed a weak smile. "But I believe you'll not only be your own hero, but someone else's." He placed a hand on Danny's shoulder. "You're going to do something special in the future…I know it."

* * *

Danny woke up from his dream. That was the last day he had with his dad before the chaplain came and told him that his family was missing and presumed dead during the safari a week later. He looked around. The other lionesses were still asleep. Danny checked his watch and the time was 7:43am. He got up and stepped outside.

While the days in Africa were scorching, the nights could get very cold. One morning, Danny found ice on his toothbrush. Danny grabbed his blanket and wrapped himself up as he watching the sun begin to rise up. Danny pondered the dream. Even though the memory of that day hurt, the words of his father seemed to answer his question and request for advice on his tape recorder. Through all of what he and the pride had been through, Danny felt that he had his answer and would do that "something special" his dad talked about in the future. The only question was when that would happen.


	12. Sending a Message

Chapter 12-Sending a Message

Starvation began to set in. Some of the low-ranking hyenas were killed by their fellow hyenas for food. When any hyenas came to feed on the lionesses, Danny would make short work of them, giving the lionesses some food. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. Danny had rationed his MRE's as best as possible, but now was down to fifteen packages. He was impressed that he spread eight months worth of rations over the span of nearly two years. He would go hunt for more food outside of the Pride Lands, but that was not enough. Water was becoming a bit of a problem as time went on, and he would go out to get more for the pride.

Already, Danny was fighting through hunger pains. He had lost some more weight, and he wondered how long it would be before his muscle mass would be gone as well. He would go out to distant lands to hunt for food, but it was becoming increasingly hard. His clothes were filthy, ragged, and torn but he kept them intact enough to wear. As the weeks passed, so did the amounts of hope. Some of the lionesses, Maisha and Yihana, both died from starvation. The number of lionesses were decreasing slowly, but were holding on to what prey they could find, including bugs.

Sarabi continued to lead the lionesses and taught the young ones on hunting. She was an incredible teacher, and most important, even in this time she was strong. She kept her spirits in high gear and showed compassion when needed. Danny could see why Mufasa loved her so much, and how much he rubbed off on her. The others, were something else. Most were just losing hope in her and Danny. Despite their best efforts, the lionesses were beginning to discuss taking over or leaving the Pride Lands altogether. Problem was, they weren't ready for either one. Leaving the land would make them vulnerable and they didn't have the numbers or strength to take on the hyenas.

One day, Danny came in from his hunt with a small impala. He came to the pride, who were anxiously waiting for food. "All I could find was an impala. It's the best we got."

Xolani was indignant. "This is all you could get? We're starving here and this is all you can get!?"

Sarabi quashed her. "You should be grateful, Xolani. Nobody's making him go get food for us. Since we've been living off of grubs and insects for so long, this is a blessing."

Xolani didn't back down. "Well, I think he could've gotten something bigger for all of us."

Zainabu defended Danny. "Beggars can't be choosers, Xolani."

Xolani grumbled as the lions dug in to their meal. Danny opened up his last MRE, beef ravioli, and began making his meal. He savored every piece, because he wouldn't have one again. When they were finished, Danny walked away to look out at Pride Rock. He remembered how beautiful it was before. Now it was gone, replaced by a sub-hellish land. He was here for over two years, and most of them were spent like this. Action would need to be taken, and soon. Danny heard Sarabi coming up behind them. "Things are looking bad. The lionesses are losing faith in me. Maybe I should've killed Scar when I had the chance."

"Don't talk like that. That's not what I'd expect to hear from you," she said in a sharp tone that she rarely used. "Yes, I want Scar removed from the throne, but the time is not right."

"I, myself, am starting to wonder when is the right time."

Suddenly, Chinaka came up. "Has anyone seen Geena? She said she was going to scrounge around for some food, but hasn't returned."

A loud, painful roar echoed on the hill by the geyser crevice. "What the…oh no!" Danny grabbed his M4 and began running. "Everybody on me!" He yelled, running to the source of the roar. The lionesses came up behind him en route to the cries. If it was Geena, he would never forgive himself. She was a promising, young lioness and losing her would hurt in more ways than one.

What he saw over the hill, he would never forget. Geena was there, being mauled alive by seven hyenas. Danny was stunned. _Why are they doing this?_ Before he could answer the question, he began running. He fired his weapon up in the air, trying to get their attention. Two hyenas noticed, but didn't bother to face him; they continued to chew away at Geena. She roared painfully before going limp.

By the time he and the lionesses got there, the hyenas were done. Geena was dead. Danny could tell already she was dead. He couldn't believe this was happening. Yet another member of his family was dead. He raised his voice in a temper he never thought he had before. "What the hell are you doing? Why did you kill her?"

One of the hyenas spoke. "The boss said you have to hunt for us. You don't hunt that much, so the boss said we can have one of you. Thanks for the meal." They carried off Geena's body, laughing as they went.

Danny, from hunger and pain, lost control of his emotions. He brought his rifle up to bear on them. They were not going to have the pleasure of living and laughing after killing another of his family. But he never got a shot off. He felt paws on his back as he fell down to the ground. He looked up. "Get off of me, Sarabi."

Sarabi didn't move. "If you kill them, the other hyenas will come and kill you."

"I don't give a damn if they do. They killed Geena." He struggled to reach for his rifle. "They have to die!"

"Patience requires sacrifice."

Danny stopped struggling. That didn't sound like Sarabi, but the gentle, soothing voice of his mother. He looked up at her. She jumped over him, standing over his rifle and looked at him. He thought he was looking at his mom, Gabrielle. Something in him made him realize the time wasn't right.

Sarabi nudge him. "Our day will come soon. We have to be patient."

Danny nodded. He collapsed on the ground and cried. He failed Mufasa and Simba. He had failed Sarafina, Yihana, Maisha, and now Geena. He cried for them, and he cried for the numbers of those who will die before they had won. Danny did his best to be a leader in these tough times, but he failed in his duties to protect his family.

Failure.

That word burned him. He shook the negative thought off as best as he could, but it did little good. He didn't kill Scar when he had the chance; if he did, they might not have been in this mess to begin with. He didn't save Simba when the stampede happened, and that could've saved a lot of trouble. He failed to protect the lionesses and now, had several punished and four dead.

Danny's eyes popped open, red-rimmed and greenish in hue. Pure hatred and rage through his body, fueling him with newfound energy. He got up and grabbed his rifle. "Come on, everyone."

Sarabi frowned. "Where are we going?"

Danny began heading to Pride Rock. "We're going to settle this matter with Scar personally." They all followed his lead as they bravely headed for Pride Rock. No matter what happened, this would not come out pretty. They walked across the plains into the open field before Pride Rock. The hyenas noticed them coming, and got up.

One of them stepped forward, growling and slobbering. "You can't pass here. Unless you want to become our next meal."

Danny pressed the bolt lock on his M4 and let the bolt charge forward. "Well, we've got some news for Scar. We can and will pass, unless you want to become my next kill." He patted his rifle.

The hyena had already seen in the past what the human's weapons could do, and would not take that chance. The hyenas backed off and made way for Danny and the lionesses. They walked, with looks of determination and anger on their face. Danny walked up the slope to the cave of Pride Rock. There were no hyenas there, but they were sure to creep up on them. Danny waved them back when they reached the entrance. "Only Sarabi comes with me, everyone else keep watch for the hyenas." They obeyed as they entered the cave.

The cave, once clean, was the total opposite now. Spider webs decorated the corners of the cave, while bones were littered all over the floor of the place. Sitting on the plateau as if nothing was wrong, were Scar and Zira. They were licking each other and showing all kinds of affection to each other. That is, until Danny and Sarabi came in. Zira immediately growled, angered by their interruption. Scar showed similar expressions. "This had better be good, seeing as how I have forbidden everyone except Zira and the hyenas who come with news."

Danny snarled. "Yeah, we've got a problem, Scar."

"I don't have time for your petty problems, human."

Danny cocked his pistol. "Make time." He pointed his finger at him. "You sent the hyenas out to kill anyone if the lionesses if they couldn't find food for them, even the lionesses themselves."

Scar didn't seem phased. "So?"

Danny was astounded. "So? These are your own flesh and blood, and you send your peons out to have their meal on them. How do you expect us to find food if we have no one to search and hunt for food?"

Zira got up. "Well, maybe if you brought some food for the hyenas it wouldn't happen."

Sarabi gritted her teeth. "Maybe if you come outside the cave once in a while, you would see that there is no food and very little water here. In fact, ever since you've been king, Scar, the lands have dried out and the animals are gone because you let the hyenas in the Pride Lands. You've never taken care of the lands and the hyenas just disrupt the-"

Scar roared loudly. "Silence!" He got up and descended from the plateau. "I've heard enough of your banter. I will not be told my duties when you fail to do your own. If my hyenas want food, they can have it after me. If they want one of you, so be it. I am the king, I can do whatever-"

Danny whipped up his pistol out of his holster, and aimed it at Scar's face right between the eyes. Zira got up for an attack, but Sarabi blocked her. "The only reason I haven't killed you is because I have no proof that you killed Mufasa and Simba, you piece of trash." Scar's expression definitely showed fear, and his mind was most assuredly at work now that Danny's opinions were out in the open. Danny kept his voice calm, but his tone was cold and icy. "I don't know what you're problem is, but if you threaten any more of my family…I'll kill you. You got that?"

For once, Scar shivered. Mainly from the gun, but also from Danny's icy tone and motive. He nodded. As Danny started to leave, Scar called him. "You realize that threatening a king's life is a great crime. Keep that in mind from now on."

Danny looked at Sarabi. "Go let the others know that if hyenas attack us from this point on, we'll kill them and eat them for our food. Any extras will be brought to Scar for food."

Scar hissed. "You don't have the authority to do that."

Danny just looked back at him and smirked. "Try and stop me." Those words left marks on Scar, as evidenced by his deathly glare and growl.

As Scar sat down, Danny and Sarabi turned to leave. Zira said under her breath, "That human's out of control."

"Not now, I'm not," Danny said, surprising both of them that he heard her. "But soon, very soon!" He and Sarabi walked out of the cave and headed back to the Pride Lands to look for some food.

Sarabi smiled at him. "I'm proud of you."

"For threatening Scar?"

"For standing up to him about killing his own kind, even though he could've very well called the hyenas in to kill you. You truly are shaping out to be a king, and I am filled with joy, knowing that you are my son." She went to the lionesses and told them what happened.

From that point on, the lionesses regained their hope in him. Danny felt relieved that even though he had lost many times during Scar's reign, he had finally won back the hope and faith of the lionesses. Maybe there was some light in the middle of all the darkness.

Danny went out, looking for food. They had found some food for the hyenas, who gladly ate the food. The lionesses all were fed, but not full. Fortunately, it was the best they got in a while, so they didn't complain that much. But sooner or later, the herds were going to be completely gone. But that was just one of many problems the pride faced. Zira and Sarabi began giving each other a hard time on who was the queen, but the attacks were mainly coming from Zira. Danny wondered when this would reach a nuclear mental meltdown.

Once again, a funeral service was held for Geena, as well as Yihana and Maisha. Everyone paid their respects as Sarabi and Kamaria gave testimony to each lioness' lives. Like Sarabi, these lionesses were truly great people. But all of them felt good deep down, because they would be avenged soon.

They all met in the cave again. Sarabi and Kamaria got the lionesses formed in a semicircle while Danny stood in the center. All of the lionesses, including Xolani and Chinaka, looking renewed with hope after the stunt Danny pulled with Scar. Danny was now feeling more confident, and now that they had waited more time, there wasn't much left on waiting. He kept a straight face, even though he wanted to smile. "You know, girls, we've waited a long time for this. We don't have much more time, but you've made it this far. You've fought through hunger, thirst, and tyranny and still made it. And I'm very proud of all of you."

He heard one of the lionesses say, "We're proud of you too, Danny." Danny chuckled as the lionesses roared in approval.

Danny put on a stern expression, but a smile still played on his lips. "Now, I have one last thing to ask you for. The cubs have to be nearing their full adult range. Together, we and they can take down Scar from his throne and restore the lands. We just have to wait a little longer, hopefully no more than one more year."

Nala looked at him. "Do you think we can last another year?"

"Yes," he said. "We've made it this far, and I see no reason why we couldn't be able to hold out a little longer. I will push myself and my bike to find food for us. I am going to do everything in my power to keep you fed."

Xolani stepped forward. "May I say something?" Danny nodded for her to go ahead. "I know I have been the most pessimistic and doubtful of you and Sarabi. At first, I couldn't stand the thought of forgiving you for letting Scar do this. But this time has taught us to be prepared for everything, and to treat all of our cubs equally. After what you said to Scar the other day, I now believe you would be willing to risk your life for all of us." She looked at the others. "And I believe I speak for all of us in saying that we love you very much."

Danny's eyes were brought to tears, as he finally won over the lionesses. He had done it the hard way, and through it, their loyalty to him was unquestionable. He barely managed to choke out the words. "I love all of you too." They all came over and licked him with their rough tongues and nuzzled him lovingly. They had finally united together. Danny didn't have any enemies in this pride anymore. Now, the only thing left was to wait. Danny tried to get up, but they were still all over him. He laughed as he managed to get up. "Okay, but now that…" He stopped.

Sarabi looked at him. "What is it?"

Danny brought his arm up and stretched it out. "Does it feel colder in here?"

Sarabi shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, so what? It's nighttime."

"No, no. It's moist in here. It's…" Danny looked to the ground on the corner. It was damp. He quickly ran for his speeder bike. He grabbed his shovel out of the container and ran back in. He let out a whoop of joy. "Ha! I knew it." He began digging into the damp ground. As the lionesses watched in confusion, Danny dug deep. Finally, he hit the ground hard, and something he hadn't seen in a long time begin coming out of the ground: water.

The lionesses took a moment to recognize it before cheering. They all began digging around Danny, forming a big bowl. Soon, water began flowing out. Danny and the pride began drinking the water. It was fresh, and they drank until their thirst was quenched. Danny let out a cheer and looked up. "Thank you, Lord."

Indeed, they had been blessed with water. They didn't know for how much, but it was a miracle and a sign that their struggle was nearing the end.

Another eight months were gone with the wind. Zira had once again had become pregnant. This time, Scar made sure Zira was protected. If she ventured out anywhere, she would have a hyena escort. He wasn't taking any chances like the last time. He also pressed Danny, Sarabi, and the rest of the lionesses to find more food. It was mainly for Zira than anyone else. Of course, they complied joyfully. Their newfound hope was just enough for them to keep going. They had waited so long. Soon, Danny would gather the cubs he had left under Jabari and Aren's care for almost three years. Then they would bring Scar down to his knees. The hyenas hunger for food and water was beginning to make them feel cheated by their leader. However, they remained fearful of Scar.

Danny returned with two adult male antelopes from his hunt. The lionesses had been successful in catching not one, but three lone warthogs. It was an amazing day, especially since they had been without food in three days. The water they had for the last eight months was now starting to dry up. It had kept them alive for a while, now they had to act soon.

Sarabi was waiting for him by the cave. "Danny, you've caught two antelopes. That is amazing. You've got food not only to provide Zira and Scar, but also the hyenas."

Danny smiled. "And with us catching those warthogs, we've got something to eat. Unfortunately, this can't last forever."

She sat down beside him as he sat on a rock. "It doesn't need to. Soon, our time will come."

Danny looked directly into her eyes. "Do you think I will make a good leader?"

Sarabi gave him a heart-warming smile. "Danny, you have done a wonderful job during these hard times for this pride. You have shown new ways to hunt, new ways to live and learn. During Scar's reign, you've stood against him bravely and have risked your life for us on more than one occasion, defending us when necessary. Your wisdom, knowledge, and discernment have shown that you are beyond your years. I think you will be as good as Mufasa was. Maybe even as great as our ancestor Mohatu."

Danny nodded, feeling full of pride at what she said. "Do you think the others feel the same way?"

Sarabi's face went slack. "At first, I think only a few saw you the way I do, especially Sarafina. Nala, Shani, Aziza, and the younger lionesses have all looked up to you not only as a big brother, but as a father. Now, I can say with assurance that they are all behind you 100 percent. I think it was the fact that you threatened him with his life if he let the hyenas have their way with us."

"I just want to be a good leader. I mean, I'm a human. An outsider brought in, and now I'm thrust into a leadership position," Danny felt as though a huge dumbbell was set on his shoulders. "I just want to end this now, before we lose anymore lionesses, and restore the Pride Lands to what they were." He glanced at the pride. "Who caught the warthogs?"

"Nala, Aziza, and Zainabu. They all were nearly flawless in their hunting."

"Good." Danny looked the other way. "Oh, no. Here comes trouble."

Coming up, with her hyena escorts, was Zira. She looked angry. "Danny, Sarabi, where's my food? I've been waiting for a while, and now you make me walk all the way out here for it? There had better be some good food. I heard you caught some warthogs."

Nala came up to her. "We've just eaten them."

Danny grabbed one of the antelopes off his bike. "Here. I just caught these two antelopes. Have them."

Zira swiped her paw at the carcass. "I don't want that. I want some warthog." She looked at Nala. "Is there anymore?" When Nala didn't answer, Zira jumped her. Despite being pregnant, Zira knocked the young lioness on her back and pressed her claws against Nala's throat. Nala was frightened. Sarabi stepped forward but the hyenas blocked her, teeth baring. Danny grabbed his pistol. Zira looked Nala dead in the eye. "Look at me! You know how bad I can make your life."

"Please, don't hurt her," Sarabi pleaded.

"We don't have anymore warthog here," Nala said. Her tone suggested she was getting angry.

Zira's eyes burned. "Where did you find them?"

"In the plains, over by the geyser crevice."

"Are there more?"

Nala hesitated for a split second. "No."

"Liar!" Zira tried to swipe Nala, but Nala kicked her off.

She got up. "You push me again and…"

"You're gonna what?" Zira taunted.

Zira and Nala began to fight. The hyenas tried to jump Nala, but Sarabi caught one and clamped down on its throat. Danny aimed and fired two shots. One shot missed, but the second shot hit the other hyena in the neck. It thrashed about for a few seconds and then lay still. The hyena Sarabi had had its throat crushed, suffocating it. Danny whistled for the other lionesses to help.

Nala had taken a good swipe to Zira's face, cutting her lip pretty badly. Zira got up and got ready to fight back, but soon realized she was surrounded by Danny, Sarabi, Nala, and the others. Zira bravely stood. "You wouldn't dare kill the queen of the Pride Lands."

Danny cocked his pistol. "You just attacked one of my pride, Zira. I might risk it. Do you want to risk your life and your child's?"

Zira knew he was serious. She decided not to risk it. She turned, but gave one last glaring look at Nala. "You cut my lip, Nala. Hope it felt good, because you're gonna pay for this busted lip for the rest of your life. I'm going to inform the king about this, but I'll be back…Nala, you better be ready for some punishment from the hyenas." Before she turned around, she said, "Nala, you just made one serious mistake." She began walking looked at Nala. The young lioness was immediately horrified because she knew she was in trouble. Sarabi shook her head. "Oh, Nala…"

Danny glowered at her. "What made you go and do a dumb thing like that for?"

Nala was crying, partially from anger and frustration. "I get so mad sometimes."

Sarabi looked sober. "They're going to punish you, Nala…or worse."

Danny wasn't going to take that chance. "Nala, come here for a second."

She came over to him. "Yeah, Danny?"

Danny looked at her with determination. "Run, right here, right now. Just run away. Go and find some help. Then come back. I'm going to Jabari and Aren. Go west towards the sun…maybe you can find help there."

Nala nodded. "Yes, Danny. I'll go." She went to the others and said her goodbyes. Soon she began running away, across the desert to uncharted territories. The other lionesses shouted their goodbyes and good lucks to her as she did.

Danny and Sarabi watched Nala disappear out of their sight. Danny kept watching through his binoculars. "Keep going and don't stop. Don't stop until you're safe."

Now, they were in a jam. They had to save another by having her leave to find help. Danny only hoped the cubs would be very strong and ready to fight, or the last three years would be for naught.


	13. Do or Die

Chapter 13-Do or Die

Another two months had passed. Zira was furious when Danny informed her and Scar that Nala was running away. There was nothing they could do to Danny or the lionesses. They had nothing to pin against them, and Danny would defend himself and the others by killing any attackers. Zira had finally went through contractions and gave birth to a male cub two weeks after Nala had run. She had named him Nuka, and Scar had agreed. But the cub was frail in form, almost sickly. Scar, being disappointed that Nuka would not be powerful and strong and rather a frail, thin lion, began to shun him. Zira, allowed the cub to suckle from her, but even she was disappointed and would soon do the same.

Danny felt sympathetic for the child, as he would be raised by two sadistic parents and shunned by them. That was no way for a child to be in a family. He even told Scar and Zira about this, but they would not listen to him, and told him to get out. Danny went up to his ship and gathered more ammunition, but sat in his cockpit and pulled out his tape recorder. He turned it on. "Hey, mom. I've been sending recordings to dad for so long, but I need to make one for you. It's been three years since I first landed here. I've lived with lions. I wonder if you and dad hear this in your recordings at the same time. I could see the looks on your faces."

"The first couple of months have been absolutely bliss, but the majority of the last three years have been turmoil. I've had eaten the last of my MRE's and have been eating fruits and meat from animals. I really want some of your homemade brownies. It's too bad I don't have the stuff to make them." Danny pulled out a picture. It was one of him and Sarabi. "Sarabi here has been with me from the very beginning. She reminds me a lot like you. Wise, wonderful, skilled, caring…no one could ask for two better mothers. You have both been there for me, especially when times were hard."

"Things don't always go the way you want them, but sometimes its for the best. I'll keep looking for you and the rest of the family. Now that things are about set for victory, and then I'll be more free to find you. Until then, I have my duties here. I love you, mom." He put the recorder back in the compartment and headed out.

Danny knew sooner or later, he was going to go out and look for them. But right now he had to focus on the job at hand. He was heading down the slope when he heard some commotion. He came down to the cave and could hear Zainabu having a heated debate with Zira and Scar. Danny rounded the corner and saw that four hyenas flanked Scar and Zira. Zainabu looked like she was beaten. Scratch and claw marks marred near her legs, and she could barely stand. He slowly entered the cave as he listened to their conversation.

Zainabu slowly stood. "We've tried our best, but the herds have moved on."

Scar was beyond irritated from the look on his face. "You aren't looking hard enough, none of you have." Scar came down on from his plateau to her. "Now, you were charged with bringing our food today, and I've been lenient with the lack of food you have brought the last two days, but now my patience has played out. Since you haven't provided any food, then maybe we should just take it out of your scrawny hide."

Zainabu was angry, but still pleaded. "What more do you want from us!? We can't find anything."

Danny decided to come in. "Hey, what's going on in here?" He looked at Zainabu. She looked at him with relief and hope. Danny gave a quick nod before turning back to Scar. "Why did you hurt her? She didn't do anything."

Zira snarled. "She didn't bring us our food, so she was punished."

Danny returned the snarl. "Was I talking to you?" Everyone was surprised at his response, especially Zainabu. Danny was being brave in talking like that to her.

Scar smiled. "You are a bold one, Danny. But yes, she was punished for not bringing in any food. In fact, you know what I think?"

Danny narrowed his eyes as the hyenas began growling. "What?"

"I think you have found food, and haven't brought that much to us. Enough for you and just enough for us to keep off your backs. And since we're all very hungry, maybe we'll just take it out of the two of you." He turned to his mate. "Zira, take Zainabu. Danny…is mine."

Danny knew it was "do or die" time. "Try me."

Scar smiled. "I had hoped for nothing less." Without turning around to look at them, Scar said, "Kill him."

The hyenas ran for him. Zira had knocked Zainabu down and the two lionesses began to fight, though Zainabu was in the defensive because of her injuries. Danny pulled out his pistol and took out the first two with head shots. He swung his leg around and kicked the third hyena in the head, breaking its neck. The fourth, a female, tried to pounce on him. Danny ducked and let the hyena fly over him. The hyena got up and charged him again. As she jumped Danny pulled out his ka-bar knife and ducked. This time, he drove the knife in and sliced deeply through her body from the neck to the stomach. She hit the ground with a thud and let out a howl of pain before going silent. Danny looked at her innards hanging out and began to vomit from the sight and smell of dead hyenas.

He then realized Zainabu was still fighting Zira. Zainabu was now down and Zira was preparing to make her final strike. She lifted her paw, claws unsheathed. Danny quickly brought up his pistol and fired. The round went straight through the tip of her right ear. She roared in pain and fell down. She clutched the ear with her paws as blood spilled out from her wound.

Scar watched in horror and what happened to his mate. He let out an angry roar that shook Danny to his bones. It was enough shock for Scar to knock Danny's pistol out of his hands. The kid backed up, his knife ready to slash open anything that came too close. Danny snarled. "Come on, you mangy furball!"

Scar smacked his paw on the ground. He shoved some dust in Danny's face. Danny was blinded and tried to rub the dust out of his eyes. Instinctively, he ducked. And not a second too soon, because Scar's mouth just missed Danny. Scar landed into the wall behind Danny, and was knocked out.

Danny got up and turned around. Zira was still hurting and Nuka was running next to his mother, asking if she was alright. Danny looked to the cave's entrance and saw numerous hyenas coming in. Most of them looked toward Danny, but some of them were intent on finishing off the injured Zainabu. Danny flung his knife at the closest hyena to Zainabu. It hit the hyena deep in the neck with a loud _thunk_. The hyena yelped and fell to the ground, trying to get the knife out of its neck. Danny pulled his M4 off his back and flipped the selector switch to "burst", the three-round firing mode for the rifle.

He stepped in front of Zainabu and aimed his rifle. The hyenas growled and bared their teeth at him. Danny heard Scar moaning, and knew he would be up soon. Zira was still clutching her ear, but she would also be up soon. Danny didn't waste any more time. He fired his rifle, all three shots hit a different hyena. The hyenas moved in, but Danny mowed them down.

He ran out of ammunition, but there were still two hyenas left. One charged him, but was met with the stock of the rifle. Skull and bones cracked as the hyena went down. Danny had no time to load another magazine as the other hyena knocked him down. The hyena was about to chomp down on Danny's neck when it howled in pain. Danny looked over to see Zainabu clamping her jaw down on the hyena's leg.

Before the hyena could react Danny rolled the hyena over, twisting the hyena's leg with it. The hyena howled again, but was cut short when Danny wrapped his arm around the hyena in the rear naked choke. Danny pressed the top of his head against the back of the hyena's neck to keep it from turning around. The hyena gasped for air, but found it couldn't and began thrashing around. Between Zainabu holding on to its leg and Danny choking it, he couldn't move much. Soon, the life left the hyena as it stopped breathing.

Danny held on for a few moments afterwards to make sure it was dead. He looked at Zainabu. "Thanks for the save."

The lioness smiled. "I was returning the favor."

Danny pulled the knife out of the now dead hyena. It apparently couldn't get it out, and choked from the blood and blade blocking the airway. As he straightened himself, he heard Scar growling behind him. He was up and Danny whipped around. Scar knocked the rifle and knife out with one swift, strike.

Danny backed up, but not before Scar took a swipe at him. Scar's paw missed, but two of the claws were extended just enough to claw across Danny's right eye. The skin split open and left two claw marks. Danny screamed in pain as blood blinded his right eye; it would leave a scar for the rest of his life. Scar knocked Danny down. Danny was still clutching his face but pulled them away when Scar landed on top of him. Even though he was a smaller lion than Mufasa, his weight felt like a truck parked on the man's chest.

Scar leaned in close. "Question: what happens when you try to kill my queen? You die."

Danny reached down into his vest and grabbed a flare. "Wrong answer." He popped the cap and jabbed the flare into Scar's leg. The lion let out a painful roar as Danny brought it into his chest. Scar got off of him and Danny rolled up onto his feet. He swung his boot up and connected with Scar's face. The shot knocked Scar back, but when Danny tried to jab him again, the lion tackled him to the ground and ran out of the cave. Zira and little Nuka followed behind, with Zira still leaving a trail of blood in her wake.

Danny landed hard and the wind was knocked out of him. He was gasping for air when Sarabi and the other lionesses came in. Chinaka, Shani, and Aziza came to Zainabu's aid while Sarabi and the others came to Danny's.

Sarabi noticed the scar. "What happened to you?"

"Scar happened. He got a good swipe, but I'll live." Danny got to his knees. "Ow, my stomach…I need some Tylenol." A roar outside caught his attention. "What's going on out there?"

Sarabi looked out towards the Pride Lands. "Scar is calling for all hyenas to come to Pride Rock." She looked back at him. "They're coming to kill you."

Danny crawled over and grabbed his pistol and knife. He holstered both and loaded his M4. "Then let them come. If I kill Scar, then maybe they'll stop."

"Scar's run up to the top of Pride Rock with Zira and Nuka. By the time you reach them, the hyenas will be on you. They probably will still kill you anyway."

Danny tried to get up, staggering as he stood. "What do you suggest?"

Sarabi looked at him with defeat. Danny slowly turned to face her. He had a feeling he knew what she would say. "Run."

If Danny didn't know better, he thought he was hearing things. "Say what?"

Sarabi placed a paw on him. "You have to run. It's over. If you stay here, Scar will kill you."

Danny stood and pulled the rifle's charging handle back. "I'll take them all on. I will not let him win."

"Danny." Danny suddenly didn't hear Sarabi's voice. He heard the voice of his mother's. "Bravery only gets you so far. Sometimes, you need to live to fight another day. With bravery, you're number comes eventually. If you die here, then the last three years will be in vain."

Danny couldn't fight back the burning tears. He knew she was right. But that meant abandoning his only family that he had left. They would be vulnerable and subject to Scar's wrath, and he would be alone. Already he could hear the hyenas coming. What's worse, the lionesses might die as a result. He knelt down and placed his hands on Sarabi's face. "Get Zainabu out of here and back to the cave. Take the slope that leads to the back of Pride Rock and make sure you stay out of their sight." He gave her a kiss on the nose. "I love you." He stood up. "I love all of you, and I will come back to set you free from Scar. I promise you that."

Sarabi licked the blood off of his face, mainly around his eye. "I love you, child." The other lionesses said the same, with the closest ones nuzzling him.

Danny, without wasting time, ran from the cave. Ran from his family. Ran from what little remained in his life. Everything they had planned for had come crashing down in one day. He jumped on his speeder bike at the bottom of the hill. Quickly igniting the bike, he gunned the engines and took off. The hyenas closed in but couldn't keep up. He outpaced them easily. Tears burned, especially his scarred, right eye, as he drove out of the Pride Lands.

_You're a failure._

Danny tried to shake the thought off. He didn't want to face it. He abandoned his family, left a tyrant in place to rule, and agreed to run away when he could've killed Scar. He never wanted it to be this way, but Sarabi convinced him to an extent.

_Not only a failure, but a coward as well. _

Danny wiped the tears from his eyes and slapped his face. "Get those thoughts out of there. Get-" But he couldn't help it. He was now truly alone, with no comfort, no family, and no friends. It seemed as if there was no point to live. He had everyone and everything torn from him, and nothing was left.

He kept running, running from everything. The sun-caked desert around him seemed like a blur, and it wasn't from the tears. The lionesses were left to deal with Scar, and given his barbarian ways, they might face death from the hyenas. That thought tore at Danny's heart. If they all did die, that meant he left them to die like a coward, and he would've failed him.

With that in mind, those thoughts he had earlier were coming back, and were starting to get the best of him. Despite all of his bravery and toughness, he found himself breaking under the events of the day coupled with his own thoughts.

Danny stopped the bike. Suddenly, death did not seem like such a bad prospect after all. He had nothing left to live for. The human had no family, no friends back home---his original home. No one and nothing would remember him over in that world. He would just be another side story in the headlines. Danny had dishonored his human family and lion family. He showed by running that he wasted his qualities as a leader and left his people to die under a tyrant.

Danny searched for anything valuable in his life. He couldn't find anything. Danny had no where else to go, with no purpose left to live for. All of the fight he had over the last three years seemed diminished now. He cried as he reached down for his pistol. Every time something went bad, there was always a small, silver lining. Always some form of hope in a situation that made him keep on fighting. Now, there was no way out. To him, every time he managed to get out, fate kept pulling him back in. And every time fate pulled him back in, he kept circling closer and closer to the flame.

Danny looked at the pistol and laughed. "Funny how useful you can become. Maybe it can end my pain right here and now. I just don't have anymore, except a walking shell." Danny pressed the barrel of the gun to his head and placed his finger on the trigger. But nothing happened.

He then realized he was being selfish, thinking about his own failures and frustrations. Those were thoughts based on him and how sorry he felt for his own self. Danny mustered up the strength to realize that the lionesses had it worse. They were about to face death and he was able to get away. Plus, if they lived, this was only temporary. He promised to free them someday, but until then, they would be in a rule of total darkness. Slowly, he flipped the safety switch back on and holstered his pistol.

Danny sped about twenty miles away from Pride Rock when he came to a lush jungle. There was a waterhole at the edge. Danny got off and powered off the bike. He immediately took off his clothes and checked the water for predators. When he found none, he dove in. The water was refreshing. He drank in some of the water and splashed it on his face, wiping the blood off of his face. He hadn't felt so clean in months, and now he felt much better.

Still the thoughts of what had happened earlier were bothering him relentlessly. He put his clothes back on and set up camp around a brush of trees. Nightfall fell and all Danny had to eat were bananas and some other fruits that he found. He had set a fire and was making a recording. He was concluding with, "Now, I can only hope that I'm not trapped here forever. That I'm not already dead, spending an eternity in hell. I can only pray, that God decides to wake me soon from this nightmare." He put his tape in the bag behind him.

He turned around and bundled himself up in the blanket he found in his speeder bike. _God help us. _Danny looked up at the sky. "God, I know I'm not much of a follower, but I…we need your help. I'm grateful you gave us the water and helped us stay alive all this long. Now, we need your help again. I need a miracle of some form soon, because of Scar's tyranny for the last three years. I swore to go back and save the lions from their fate, but I can't do it alone. Uh, Amen."

He hoped that would be enough as he laid down on his back and fell asleep.

It seemed like he was only asleep for a few minutes when he heard movement behind him. Normally, he would be up with his pistol ready to fire. But he was so hungry and his desire to live was down to an all-time low. This time, he just got up out of his sleeping bag and grabbed his pistol, holding it loosely. He stood up and looked in the direction of the movement. Out of the brush came a translucent version of a mighty and powerful lion. The translucency faded into golden fur and a russet mane.

Danny looked at him. "Mufasa."

The deceased king walked toward him. "Whether it would've been you or Simba, or Scar, or someone else…this day was coming. The hyenas would've attacked sooner or later. Scar just provided an easier way for them."

Danny nodded. Even though all of the pieces were not all placed together, he understood that it would've happened. Whether Mufasa was still alive or not, this was coming. Just like the dream of the hyenas spreading over the land, it had come true. Danny just didn't want to believe it.

They both sat down next to the fire. Danny shook his head. "I've failed an entire people." He looked at Mufasa. "Why are you here? What happened that day?"

Mufasa looked at the fire briefly. "I can't explain to you what happened that day. You need to find out for yourself. Right now, I am here to tell you something."

Danny smiled sadly. "Go ahead. I got nothing else to do."

"Scar and the hyenas will be nearing the critical point of starvation. You need to rally all our your allies for battle."

Danny leaned back against his bike. He was aggravated. "Look, I'm just doing what Sarabi told me: run away and live. Now, you're telling me to go back?"

"I think she meant to live and fight another day. That being said, you need to find your friends and get them ready."

Danny shook his head. "I've been no help to anybody, Mufasa. Why don't you go find someone else?"

Mufasa glared at him. "This is not the time for self pity. If you don't do something soon, Scar will dispatch all of the hyenas to kill the pride and move on to another land. That land will be destroyed as well just like the Pride Lands have been. They will continue to spread like a disease. When Scar finally dies, he will have another heir take his place and continue the chaos."

"Not much I can do about it. I'm hungry, all but deprived of any fight and life, and on top of that, I'm in a place where I know no one else aside from the pride. Besides, who am I gonna rally?"

Mufasa smiled. "Not all allies are where you think they are, and I'm not talking about Jabari, Aren, or Malka."

Even though that brought back the remembering of other allies he could rally, that statement confused Danny. "Who are you talking about then?"

Mufasa placed a paw on Danny's shoulder. "Don't worry about that. I got a good feeling you will find out very soon. But you need to rally your pride together and force Scar to step down. Otherwise, the pride is doomed."

Danny raised his hands. "Okay, okay, I get the picture." He smiled as he couldn't shake off the humor of Mufasa's persistency. "I just wish you were still here."

The king shrugged. "Some things are just never meant to be." The king walked away into the brush. As he did, the fur began fading back into the translucent blue color as before. He turned his head. "Make ready the warrior, Danny."

Danny thought this over. The name of his ship had a good meaning, but Danny never had to rise to the occasion. Now, it had come---it just depended on what he would do. He was aggravated and cranky, but he needed to control it and move on. There was no way he would let Scar destroy the only home he had left and move to another home. The brush behind him rustled. He turned to face it. An animal popped out, surprising him.

***

Danny woke up with a start. It was still nighttime and the fire was still bright, but it was dimming out from the lack of wood. Danny looked around for any animals, but found none. It was all a dream. Danny relaxed. _But it had to mean something. That conversation with Mufasa had to have been for a purpose. But what did he mean by help other than Jabari and Aren? _He wasn't sure. What he was sure of was that he needed rest, and lay back down in his bag. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the backpack.


	14. New Hope

Chapter 14-New Hope

Danny opened his eyes. If it wasn't for him sleeping in the forest, he would've thought he was in a mirage. He was flying in the sky, and below him was the Pride Lands. It was still a desolate wasteland, but now instead of the typical gray clouds that covered the skies for the last three years, there were now dark storm clouds. Skulls and bones littered the lands as dead trees provided the only signs of former vegetation. Danny looked around and saw the lionesses still there and hyenas as well. Then he heard a voice.

"_Daniel Manning, the time has come."_

Danny began flying around Pride Rock as the voice kept speaking. He didn't recognize it.

"_The final battle is at hand. The enemies of Pride Rock grow strong. In order to achieve victory, you must play your final card."_

Danny saw lightning strike a bush near Pride Rock. Fire spread quickly all over the land, consuming it entirely. Danny watched in shock. _Is this what's going to happen? Pride Rock gets destroyed by fire?_

"_Seek assistance, Daniel. You have numerous allies to help you." _Danny suddenly was soaring through a tunnel, with flashes of light making him squint his eyes. _"You must take charge in the freedom of your home. Transform your world…" _Danny saw a figure getting larger as he came closer. _"…or suffer extinction." _The figure was a lion. Danny gasped. "Mufasa!?"

* * *

Danny woke up with a start. That dream freaked him out, but he wondered what it meant. Was it symbolic or just a dream? He got up from his makeshift bed, which was just the blanket, and stretched. From the look of the sun, it was setting. Danny frowned and cocked his head. "I guess I needed the sleep more than I thought." He yawned as he looked around. Danny didn't know where to go, but he decided to head into the jungle. He packed up his stuff and hopped on his speeder bike.

Danny quickly passed through the place and was amazed at the wonderful sight. The trees and fruits all around made the lands seem like a paradise. It was beautiful. Danny smiled. "I wonder if this could be a place where we could live if things get that desperate at Pride Rock." But that thought was immediately shot down, as there was a problem. So far, Danny encountered no animals that the lions hunted, and this would be a problem. The fruits would be good, but they would not be enough.

Suddenly, his attention was directed to the rustling of the bushes behind him. He grabbed his rifle and aimed it at the moving bushes. "Come out now or I'll shoot!"

"Danny?"

It took Danny a second to recognize the voice. "Nala?"

Nala came out of the bushes and jumped on top of Danny. "I'm so glad to see you." She licked him with her tongue, but stopped when she came near his right eye. "What happened to your face?"

Danny got up and rubbed her head. "Scar happened. He and I got in a tussle after an incident. That's why I'm here."

"Why are you here?"

Danny began to explain. "Zainabu was torn up because she was supposed to bring in food for Scar and Zira and didn't because she didn't have any. Scar decided that everyone in the cave would have the two of us for dinner since they had gone without food in two days. I killed his bodyguards and then realized that Zira was fighting an injured Zainabu. Before Zira killed her, I shot her in the ear. She's gonna have that for the rest of her life, but that's when Scar jumped me and gave me this," Danny said pointing at the dual scar over his right eye. "When he called for all the hyenas to kill me, Sarabi told me to run…I-I didn't want to, but I had to get away." Danny was already choking the words. He gathered up strength and forced the words through clenched teeth. "I promised them, Nala. I promised them I would come back for them. I just need to get some help."

To his surprise, Nala's face became excited. "Well, if you can help, then we might have some help nearby."

"What are you talking about?"

Nala pointed her paw towards a waterfall to her right. "You won't believe who I found over there."

"I'm gonna go on a limb here and say you found a group of male lions looking for some hyenas to eat," Danny said sarcastically.

Nala's eyes beamed. "I found Simba. He's alive."

Danny fell back as if he just got leveled by a linebacker. "Say what!?"

"Simba survived. He's been living here with two others the last three years."

Danny slapped himself in the face to make sure he was still hearing things right. "Two more lions?"

Nala giggled. "No, a meerkat named Timon and a warthog named Pumbaa."

A question burned through his mind. "Why was he living here for the last three years when we needed him back home?"

Nala's smile quickly turned into a downcast expression. "I asked him the same question. He wouldn't tell me and won't go back. He seems content with Scar being the king, but I don't know why."

Danny glowered at hearing this. "This isn't the Simba I remember who couldn't wait to be the king. Do you think he's hiding something?"

Nala nodded. "I think so. That's why I think you might be able to convince him to come back."

Danny got up and mounted his bike. "You said he's past the waterfall?"

Nala's tone took on some anger. "He headed into a field after our…argument. What are you doing?"

Danny pointed at her. "Find this Timon and Pumbaa." He looked to the waterfall. "Whether we convince Simba or not, we're going back to Pride Rock to take Scar down. And we've got some help that I can't believe I forgot about."

"I hope it's advantageous, but I'll go find Simba's friends."

Danny gunned the engines and took off. It was now dark, with the moon shining bright. He passed the waterfall and headed out for the field. So far, he didn't see Simba and had only the strong moonlight and the bikes floodlight as his only illumination. He would've used his night vision goggles, but he left them back in his ship. Danny shook his head. "If only I had a little more time to grab some more equipment…"

All this time, Danny's hopes and suspicions were confirmed. Simba was alive. Even he phrased it as a question to himself. He was alive and living here for the last three years. Questions were racing through his mind. How did Simba survive without predators in these lands? What was it like? But the most important question Danny wondered was: why didn't Simba come back?"

Those questions could be answered later. Right now, he only cared about seeing his long, lost little brother again.

Danny only saw some trees until he hit a huge forest of trees. The roots and branches were all over the place. It would be impossible for him to fly his bike through that thick brush, so he went around instead. It was a little longer than he expected, but he came around to a marsh. A little further than that, he saw a male lion chasing after a cloud. The cloud was giving the greatest illumination over the field.

Danny thought he heard a familiar voice. "…Remember…"

The lion was calling out to the cloud. "Don't leave me."

Danny looked closely at the lion. "That must be Simba." He closed in to where he could hear him. To his surprise, Rafiki came up behind him.

The mandrill was surprised. "Ha, what was dat? Heh, heh…da weather…very peculiar. Don't you tink?"

Simba sat and kept staring in the direction of the clouds. "Yeah, the winds are changing."

Rafiki nodded while leaning on his stick. "Ah, change is good."

Simba chuckled. "Yeah, but it's not easy." He looked down at the ground. "I know what I have to do but going back means I'll have to face my past. I've been running from it for so long."

Rafiki suddenly slammed the heavy end of his stick on Simba's head. Danny did his best to hold in a laugh, even though he was as equally surprised the mandrill did that. Simba groaned. "Ow, geez. What was that for?"

Rafiki smiled. "It doesn't matta, it's in da past…ha ha."

Danny frowned. "What is he getting at?" He said to himself.

Simba rubbed his head with his paw. "Yeah, but it still hurts."

Rafiki put his hand around Simba. "Oh yes, da past can hurt. But da way I see it, you can either run from it, or learn from it." He swung his stick around to hit Simba again. This time, Simba ducked. Rafiki cheered. "Aha! You see? So wat are you going to do?"

Simba growled. "First, I'm gonna take your stick." He grabbed Rafiki's stick and ripped it out of his grasp. He turned around and through it near Danny's location.

Rafiki panicked. "Oh, no, no, no, no. Not the stick." He picked it up and turned around. "Hey, where are you going?"

In the distance, Danny could see the lion running towards the Pride Lands. He shouted back to Rafiki, "I'm going back!"

Rafiki smiled. "Good! Go on, get out of here!" He started laughing and whooping maniacally.

Danny hopped on his bike. "Time to go." He powered it up and took off after Simba. It didn't take long before Danny caught up to him. "Simba!" The lion stopped, but didn't turn to face him. He was trying to listen. Again, Danny called out, "Simba!" This time, Simba turned around. Danny stopped the bike and hopped off. Danny was at a loss for words. _He looks just like Mufasa._ Simba's mane had grown out fully. The one difference between him and his father were the loose bangs of fur hanging lazily over Simba's face. His build was muscular, but not quite to the aptitude of Mufasa. "Long time no see, little brother."

Simba was overjoyed. "Danny? Is that you?"

Danny adopted a superman pose. "The one and the same."

Simba jumped and knocked him to the ground. Danny wrestled and roughhoused with him like he did when Simba was just a cub except he was a little rougher and a lot bigger. It was good to them to see each other after all these years. Danny could hear Simba's purring when he exhaled. They both felt like kids again. They laughed and played around for a few minutes before finally stopping. They were out of breath from the play.

Simba caught his breath. "I'm so glad to see you. I'm glad you finally grew your mane out. Now you look like a true lion."

Danny almost forgot his hair and beard had grown out so much over the time. "Yeah, but I plan on changing that soon."

Simba arched an eyebrow. "What's been going on the last few years?"

Danny's smile disappear. "I was about to ask you the same question."

Simba explained how he had run away from the Pride Lands. "I ran through the desert until I couldn't run anymore. I thought I was dead, but that's when I met Timon and Pumbaa, a meerkat and warthog, respectively. They rescued me from vultures and taught me about a new lifestyle. The motto of the lifestyle is Hakuna Matata."

Danny frowned. "Say what?"

"It means 'no worries.'"

Danny nodded, but still found it weird. "Okay, so what happened then?"

Simba looked resigned. "I grew up with that lifestyle but always wondered what was going on back home. I just dismissed it by hoping that everything was going well."

Danny shook his head, irritably. "Sad to say that wasn't the case." Danny creased his brow. "Why didn't you return?"

"What is it with you and Nala? Are you teaming up in an interrogation?" Simba said, defensively.

Danny raised his hands. "Whoa, calm down. I just wanna know."

"I have my reasons for not going back. Maybe some day I'll tell you, but not now." He sounded guilty about it, but Danny thought it was for leaving.

Danny didn't sound convinced. "So you're telling me the only reason you left was for a little 'Hakuna Matata?'" Danny flew his arms toward Simba. "Come on, bro."

"I'll tell you about it later, alright?" Simba was getting agitated, so Danny nodded as an indication that he would drop it, for now. "So what's your story?"

Danny, in turn, told him about the horrors that had gone on during the last three years during Scar's reign. The kid never thought it would be so hard to recall all of the scarring memories and events that had happened to him the last three years. There were moments where he wasn't sure if he could make it through talking without choking up in tears. He explained what happened the other day and how he defended Zainabu and attacked Zira and Scar before escaping the hyenas, adding in how Scar gave him his little mark over his eye.

Simba was shocked. "I…don't know what to say. That's horrible." He growled. "We have to stop Scar."

Danny smiled. "My sentiments exactly." He hopped back on the speeder bike. "In fact, I have a plan already set up. Now that you're here and alive, this is as good as it gets. When we find a place to sleep for the night, I'll discuss the plan." He and Simba took off, happy to be reunited and excited to get back to Pride Rock. They had a kingdom to set free.

They went to the edge of the fields, where the desert met. There was a waterhole nearby and spent the night there. Danny set up a campfire to keep warm. Simba sat down as Danny laid out his blanket. They had a big day tomorrow and would need some rest before traveling on. Danny pulled out his knife and began shaving and cutting his hair back down to a fade. The sharp blade worked perfectly as a substitute razor, and made his face smooth for the first time in months. After eating some fruit, Danny discussed the plan with Simba. "I'm going to leave early in the morning. I will rally King Jabari's pride and hopefully King Aren's to help us in our fight for our land."

Simba frowned. "Why don't you just gather the cubs form our pride? I think we can take them on."

"You haven't been there in years. Trust me, with all of the hyenas, we're gonna need some help. The majority of them will be at the base of Pride Rock while only a handful will be on it. While our pride takes care of the ones on Pride Rock, Jabari and Aren can take care of the majority. You and I will take care of Scar." Danny slid under his blanket. "I'll leave early in the morning. You keep going to Pride Rock and wait for me to get there. Then, we'll move out."

Simba nodded. "Sounds like a plan. It's going to be a busy day tomorrow." His head came up. "How's my mother doing?"

Danny thought that over. "She's been strong ever since the stampede. The two of us had been leading the pride with Scar doing nothing but ordering others around and staying in the cave. She told me that I was the reason I was still going. She thought she had lost you, but still had her other son. I have no clue what's gone on since yesterday. But I guarantee you she will be excited beyond all reason to see you alive." His smiled disappeared. "Assuming she's still alive."

Simba shook his head. His ruby eyes looked on the verge of tears. "I hope she still is. I can't believe what all have you have been going through. I feel horrible for leaving, but things are going to change when we get back."

"Yeah, but no matter what happens, I'm glad we're back together. I've missed my little brother, big time."

Simba smiled. "I've missed my big brother too, but I have a question. What if we win? I mean, if Scar is out of the picture, who will be king?"

Danny thought this over. Because Simba was the rightful heir, he should assume the throne. But Danny knew the lionesses, while some would say Simba is the rightful heir, most would back Danny up because he led them during hard times while Simba grew up in paradise. Some would go so far as to think he abandoned them to suffer at Scar's tyranny. But Simba was a cub, and couldn't do much at the time. Then an idea came to him. "How about we both be kings?"

Simba's eyebrows rose. "What?"

"I'm serious. Two kings ruling one land would be ideal. We could switch duties between morning rounds and patrolling the territory each day. It would work. Besides, we could learn from each other during our rule."

A smile slowly crept on Simba's face. "You know something…that's one of the best ideas I've heard in a while. It would make everyone happy."

"Then it's settled," Danny said, and yawned. "But that's for later. Right now, we need to get some sleep." Danny rested his head against Simba's stomach and fell asleep. Simba gave a loud yawn before going to sleep. The tables were about to turn for the Pride Lands.

* * *

Danny got up early as usual. And just like the old days, Simba was still asleep. Danny quickly packed up and powered on his speeder bike. He had to hand it to Dasyu. He had good taste in bikes. Slowly moving out so as not to wake Simba, Danny made his way to King Jabari's shore pride. Already, he had the location programmed from the last time when he dropped some of the cubs off.

He wondered what Kula, Chumvi, and Tojo looked like now. They probably were bigger than him by a lot. As he traveled across the desert, he wondered if the birds were still flying around Tojo. The story Danny heard was that the cubs discovered some bird eggs. Originally, they hatched and saw Simba first, thinking he was their mother. But after he asked that Tojo watch them, they were inseparable.

He was twenty seven miles away from the location. At the speed he was going at, he would be there in an hour. It was dawn, and it was still dark, but as each minute passed, Danny could see better and farther. The next place would be Aren. He didn't seem as lenient or willing as Jabari was at holding some of the cubs, so asking his pride to fight alongside Danny's would be even less likely. Still, he needed to try.

Passing out of the desert, he had nothing but trees to enter and pass through. It was nearing midday and Danny was hungry. It wasn't fruit he wanted. It was meat he wanted. Well, when he reached the top of a hill, he saw a lone antelope grazing in an open field at the bottom. "Finally, some food." Danny jumped off the bike and brought his M4 rifle to bear. He aimed his scope on the antelope, centered on its head, and squeezed the trigger.

The shot head the antelope dead on, going right through its head. It dropped to the ground and Danny hopped back on his bike and sped down the hill to his kill. He reached it and began carving out some meat with his ka-bar knife. Danny found some rocks and began cooking the meat over the fire he made from sticks and leaves. He waited for about thirty minutes before eating the meat. It was delicious, more delicious than any meat he had had for the last few years. Maybe it was from losing hope and decreased morale being lifted that caused the exquisite taste.

Danny licked his lips as he finished. "Wow, that was good. I might cook some more." He was about to cook a piece of the antelopes leg when movement caught his eye. He grabbed his shotgun and pumped it. Off to his left, he saw another shadow moving among the trees. The sun wasn't coming through that well on the trees, so Danny couldn't tell what it was, only that it was big. He heard movement all around him. Danny realized there were too many to take, whatever they were. Maybe a peaceful solution would help. He set his shotgun down and raised his hands. "I mean no harm."

As if an answer to his words, numerous lionesses came out. All were growling, anxious to eat. Whether it was Danny or the antelope, he didn't know. Danny pointed to the antelope. "If you want some, help yourself."

A male voice came from behind him. "We appreciate your generosity." Danny turned around to face a brown-furred lion with a black mane and gold-colored eyes. "It's been a long time."

Danny recognized him immediately. "Chumvi, is that you?"

Chumvi smiled. "I'm glad you still remember me, Danny. Glad you could return." He and Danny walked to each other. Danny was the first to embrace. Chumvi returned it. "I've missed playing with you."

Danny stepped back. "Maybe we can fix that in a few days." Danny extended his hand, palm-up. Chumvi caught on and smiled. He high-fived the man's hand with his paw. "Where's Kula and Tojo?"

Chumvi jerked his head behind him. "They're back at the shore with Jabari and Alijiah. It was my turn to command the hunting party. In fact, they fell in love with each other and are now mates. Kula just found out she's pregnant."

Danny was shocked. "Well, what do you know about that? That's great news and I want to see them. You can bring this antelope back and dine on that. I need to talk to the three of you as well as Jabari. I have a huge request to make."

Chumvi nodded. "Well, let's get going. Aja, you're in charge. Take this antelope back. Danny and I need to get to the shores right now." He turned to Danny as the man sat down on his bike and powered it up. "You ready to go?"

Danny smirked. "Yeah, but the question is: can you keep up with me?"

Chumvi returned the smirk. "A lot has changed."

Danny nodded. "You're right." They took off for the shore to find Jabari and the others. Danny followed Chumvi. For a male lion, Chumvi was unbelievably fast. Generally, they couldn't run that long in this heat but Chumvi was not slowing down. The only reason Danny wasn't leaving him in the dust was because he hadn't come into Jabari's land from this side, so he didn't know where to go. But once he saw the shore, Danny could see the pride of lions sitting in the shade. Danny sped up next to Chumvi. The lion looked at him as Danny spoke. "Hasta la vista." Danny gave a quick wave and took off. Chumvi didn't even bother, knowing that his bike could go for a long time.

Danny hopped off and looked around. He immediately found Tojo, as the two birds were still flying around him. Danny laughed as Tojo looked his way. Danny waved to him. "Do those birds ever leave you, Tojo?" He asked loudly.

Tojo charged him. "Nope, but I hope that they're as glad to see you as I am." Tojo slowed down and knocked him down. Danny roughhoused him while Tojo nuzzled him and rolled on top of him. Danny buried his face into Tojo's auburn mane. Tojo looked exactly like Simba, only a darker hue of both fur and mane, and had green eyes. Danny could already tell about half of the pride's lionesses were attracted to him. Tojo got off of him. "We've missed you a lot."

Danny got up and gave his mane a thorough mussing. "Yeah, well I missed you too. I heard you and Kula hit it off," He gave him a wink.

Tojo frowned. "Hit it off?"

"It's a saying. It means got together."

"Oh. Yeah, we did. Now, we're expecting cubs." Tojo said with a proud smile. "And they'll be just as good-looking as their father." The sound of a female clearing her throat made him gulp. "Their mother too."

"That's better." Kula walked up to them. The light brown cub was now a beautiful lioness, with hazel eyes to complete her looks. Even her smile was dazzling. "Danny, we've all missed you. It's been years since we last saw you. What are you doing here?"

Danny's smile became a mixture of excitement and glumness. "Let me gather the pride together. If you could rally them here, I want to give my message to everyone." As Tojo and Chumvi went to gather the lionesses up, Kula and Danny walked over to a familiar lion sitting with his mate. Danny smiled. "It's been a long time, Jabari."

Jabari got up with a smile. "Too long, my friend. I just wish you'd visit a little more often." They both embraced each other in a hug. "You'd be a welcome visitor, you know."

Danny let go, with a serious look on his face. "Well the reason I couldn't come in the past few years is the reason I am here now." His smile returned as Jabari's queen approached. "Alijiah, it's always good to see you again."

Alijiah slowly embraced him. "And you also, Danny."

Danny released her and arched an eyebrow. "I see Kula is not the only one expecting cubs."

Alijiah smiled. "It won't be long before I give birth, I'd say about a few weeks."

"Congratulations. I hope the cub makes a fine heir or heiress to your throne." Danny looked around. "Is everyone here?"

Tojo and Chumvi came back with the hunting party that carried the antelope back. Tojo spoke. "Everyone is now here."

Danny stood in the middle of the Shore Pride. "With your permission Jabari, I'd like to make an announcement." Jabari nodded. "Actually a story. Since you know what initially happened three years ago, with Mufasa's death and Scar's rise to the throne. Since then, the Pride Lands have been turned into a desolate wasteland, and now Scar plans to kill his own pride in order to feed himself, his queen, and his hyena henchman. Already, we have lost four lionesses. I don't know how many have died in the last few days, given the way things turned out. But if actions aren't taken, then everyone will starve, die of thirst, or be killed." He looked at the three lions that he had dropped off as cubs years ago. "The plan was to wait until the cubs have grown up and come back to get them and take back our kingdom. But I have noticed from our lionesses own condition and the amount of hyenas that we need more." He looked at Jabari. "We need this entire pride's help to retake our lands."

Jabari stepped forward. "Say no more, Danny." He looked around the pride. "Danny saved most of our lives years ago, and we swore allegiance to Mufasa's pride. Since Mufasa has passed on, it is Danny we swear to. As King of the Shore Pride, I hand over my people to you. We are yours to command." Jabari bowed low, with the others following suit.

Danny was caught off-guard, but it wasn't surprising since Jabari was a good and honorable friend who would lay down his own life for Danny because he had saved him from Dasyu way back in the day. Danny smiled. "Alright, I'm going to be direct and to the point. We need to leave right away. All pregnant females will stay back here with three lionesses to guard and catch food for them. The rest of you, let's go. I have one more pride to rally up today and we'll head to Pride Rock. If all goes well, we should be there by evening."

Jabari nodded. "Tojo, you take point. Chumvi, you cover the rear. Danny and I will be in the center. Let's move everyone."

Danny hopped back on his speeder bike and cruised slowly with Jabari. "I'm kinda surprised that you answered without hesitation. I would think you would think about it first."

Jabari turned to him and smiled. "You know why I didn't hesitate? Because someone many years ago saved my life, and he didn't hesitate to do so. I don't see why I shouldn't do the same."

Danny smiled. "Thanks, Jabari. Now, let's get going. We've got another pride to rally and…heh…I can't wait to see the look on Scar's face when his reign comes crashing down."

* * *

It was only two hours later when they reached the mountain of King Aren's pride. The pride stopped at a waterhole to drink. The day was unusually hot, and off in the distance, storm clouds were creeping in the direction of Pride Rock. They drank until they had their fill of water. As they moved on, they heard roaring in the distance. Danny knew it was a male lion letting them know they were on his ground, but it didn't sound like Aren. He encountered this before, but he remembered Aren's roar. Whoever was roaring was someone else.

Tojo looked at Danny and Jabari. Danny pointed in the direction of the mountain. "Let them know we are coming in peace and would like to talk to them." Tojo nodded and responded with a few roars.

Soon after, some more roaring followed. Tojo turned around. "It sounds like he's letting us in."

Danny nodded. "Alright, let me take point." He and Tojo headed up the mountain with the others behind them. They walked up to an open ridge on the side of the mountain. Danny remembered when he first came here, he had been delivering the cubs to Aren for safety. It was on the verge of a bleak time. He had been through a time of darkness, and now that was about to come to an end. He wondered what Tama and Mheetu looked like now.

Movement caught his eye. Some pebbles fell down the mountain to the ridge. Tojo and the others froze, growling. Danny waved them down. He raised his voice. "Aren, are you up there? It's Danny, the guy who saved your son." He waited, but didn't hear a response. What was going on? "Uh, anyone?"

"Daaaannnnnyyyy!!!!" Danny turned around to see a huge orange lion with a jet black mane jump into the air towards him.

Danny tried to back up to avoid getting flattened. "Malka!"

But he was too late. Malka knocked Danny off his bike and landed on him, crushing him to the ground. "Danny, I knew you'd come back to us!"

Danny groaned. He felt huge pressure on his ribcage. "Malka…so heavy…ouch!"

The other lions laughed as Malka got up. "I'm sorry, Danny. I'm just so excited to see you again. Why haven't you visited us at all?"

Danny regained his breath and waited until the pain subsided. "I've been busy…but…I'm back. So now…let's play!" Danny suddenly jumped on Malka, knocking him off-balance. Malka rolled with him and knocked him down on the ground again. They wrestled around for a few minutes before they finally stopped. Danny was getting tired from all the roughhousing from Simba to Tojo and Chumvi to Malka. They were all the same age, and while they were adults, they still had plenty of reckless, playful kid in each one of them. He would need his energy for the upcoming events.

Danny sat back. "I need to speak with your dad."

Malka's smile faded into sadness. "He's passed on from this world. He fell sick about a year ago, and died ten months after that."

Danny rubbed his hand on Malka's big shoulder. "I'm sorry, bro. At least he's in a better place. I know what it's like to lose someone close. It takes time to recover, but I know you're strong. You'll recover, thrive, and rule your pride as an excellent leader."

"Thanks," Malka said, his smile returning. "What are you here for?"

"Could you get the pride together, I want to announce what I have to say to everyone. Also, I want to see Mheetu and Tama. I haven't seen them in a long time."

Malka roared. As the pride materialized from the mountain, Malka turned back with a wink. "Tama is my queen now."

Danny nodded and then did a double take. "Yeah, I…what?"

"We pretty much were close ever since we met back at Pride Rock. When you brought her here, I hung around her and Mheetu ever since."

Danny patted Malka. "Congratulations, so where are they?"

Malka turned around and smiled at him. Danny frowned, but then remembered what Malka did. He quickly ducked, and not a second too soon. "Gotcha!" Danny looked up to see a beige lioness land in front of him. If he waited two seconds, he would've involuntarily did a face-plant into the ground. She turned around, disappointment on her face. "Aww, I missed." She still had a head tuft like she did when she was a cub, only a little bigger.

Danny smiled. "Just give it some practice, Tama. Maybe you'll get me next time." Tama jumped up on her hind feet and held him in a hug. Danny balanced himself to keep from falling back. "It's great to see you again after all these years."

"Likewise," she said. Her big eyes were almost irresistible. "Could I get a piggyback?"

Danny's eyebrows rose, but he kept his smile. "You've gotten bigger since last time. I'm not sure."

"Please?"

"Alright, alright." As Tama cheered, Danny got down on one knee and had his back turned for her to hop on his back. She turned around and hopped on his back. Danny struggled at first from her weight, but managed to get up. It was challenging enough to hold her, but then she started to tickle him with her rough tongue licking the back of his neck. He laughed and fell down. Tama got off and landed on her feet. Danny tried to stop laughing. "I can't pick you up anymore. You're too big."

"So what does that make you?"

Danny turned around to face an almost white-furred lion with a contrasting black mane. "Mheetu, is that you?"

"The one and the same. I haven't seen you in a long time. What brings you back?"

"I'll get to that. I'm waiting until all of the pride are here."

All of Malka and Jabari's pride gathered together around Danny as he stood. Even after being here over three years, Danny was still amazed that he could stand among lions and not get eaten. If they couldn't talk to him, he probably would've shot them in defense. As they sat, Danny spoke. He explained to them what was going on the last three years up to the events with him and Scar. What he didn't announce before was that Simba was found alive and well. This surprised everyone, especially the cubs from the Pride Lands who were put here for safety. They were overjoyed to hear that their long lost friend was alive, not dead. Then he concluded with the request. "Because we need great help in taking down the hyenas, I have asked Jabari's pride for help and they have agreed to help. I ask that Malka's pride also help us in our struggle against Scar before he destroys everything."

One of Malka's lionesses stood. "We've just gotten over the loss of our former king, and now you want us to risk even more losses? Forget it, go find someone else."

Danny was about to speak, but Malka was a half-second ahead of him. "Okay, Lela. You can stay if you want. I'm going with Danny."

That broke the logjam quickly. Danny was stunned at how composed young Malka was, especially assuming the throne of his pride for only a few months. "Danny saved my life long ago. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for him. I believe that we need to return the favor for him. If there are those of you who want to stay, do so. The lionesses expecting cubs should stay here. But I'm going with Danny to help him. Who's with me?"

Jaydi, his mother who was still alive, walked up. "He's right. We can't leave Scar in charge of the Pride Lands. Otherwise, Danny's people will die off. Wouldn't we want help if we were in his position?"

Out of thirty lions, twenty-two stepped forward, showing that they would fight. The other eight, five of them pregnant, hung back. Malka smiled at this and turned to Danny. "Okay, when do we leave?"

Danny gave him a cocky smile. "Right now. I'll explain the battle plan when we get there. We'll head to the border on the north side. Let's get going. We need to hurry. It's getting late and I'd hate to miss the fun." He hopped on his bike and both prides, rallied together for Danny, headed off to the Pride Lands. Danny couldn't be more proud of himself. Over the last three years he had weathered hard times, watched over the pride, protected them, stood up to a tyrant and attacked him in defense of the lionesses, and now had rallied two prides to fight with theirs as one. Indeed, he had the true makings of a leader. The only concern he had was if the lionesses had survived from Scar the last few days.


	15. Battle of Heroes Pt 1: The Plan

Chapter 15-The Battle of Heroes, Pt. I: The Plan

They reached the Pride Lands by evening. Already, the storm clouds were forming over the Pride Lands and were heading Danny's way. This day was going to be one of the fiercest days in his life. No matter what happened, this fight was going to be bloody. No one would escaped unscathed. Still, the two prides knew the risks, and would be ready to do their part.

They reached a bone yard of animals. Jabari and Malka couldn't believe what had happened. It was lush when they were last here, but now it was a wasteland and graveyard. The devastation was terrible. Jabari walked up to Danny. "You weren't kidding when you said it was horrible. I'm impressed you've lasted all this time in this land."

Malka agreed. "It's devastating. This whole land looks like a giant graveyard."

Danny rested a hand on the young king's mane. "And if nothing is done, that's all it will ever be. Everyone will die of either starvation or thirst. We've already lost two to those categories, and I don't want to lose anymore."

Malka's face blazed with anger. "After seeing this, I'm going to make sure Scar gets his."

"You're not the only one. If I had proof that Scar was the cause for the death of Mufasa, he would've long since been dead. But all I have is speculation. But none of that matters now. After everything he's done, he has warranted punishment. Oh, wait. I think I see Simba." Danny looked closer and confirmed it was Simba. He was running up the slope near the edge of the border. "You guys wait here. I'll go meet him."

Jabari and Malka halted while Danny sped up on his speeder bike. He reached Simba as the lion stopped to take a view of the land he called home many years ago. Simba looked on in shock; the desolation was a nightmare-turned-reality. His face went from shock to glaring anger. Danny stopped his bike right next to him. "Now you know what we've been facing the last three years."

Simba's glare towards the lands turned on Danny. "Are you saying you're blaming me for what I did?"

"No, because you were only a cub then. You couldn't have taken on Scar at your age, but it would've been nice to know that you were still alive."

"Simba, Danny, wait up!" Both of them turned to see Nala running up to them. She looked at Simba. "It's awful isn't it?"

Simba turned back to the land. "I didn't want to believe you guys."

Nala came closer, right in between Danny and Simba. "What made you come back?"

"I finally got some sense knocked into me," he jerked eyes and head up. "And I've got the bump to prove it."

Danny cracked up. "You sure did."

Simba turned to him. "You saw that?"

"Of course, I only wish I had a recording of it. I would've played it for the others to watch."

Nala was confused. "What are you two talking about?"

"Nothing," Simba said. "But like I said, I came to my senses. Besides, this is our kingdom. If Danny and I don't fight for it, who will?"

"I will." Nala said, ready to fight for Simba.

Simba turned to face her. "It's gonna be dangerous."

"Danger, ha." Nala said, imitating Simba from when he was a cub. "I laugh in the face of danger. Ha, ha, ha, ha!"

"I see nothing funny about this." Danny turned to face a meerkat and warthog.

Simba smiled, surprised. "Timon? Pumbaa? What are you doing here?"

The warthog bowed low. "At your service, my liege."

Simba remembered something. "Oh, I forgot. Danny, the meerkat is Timon and the warthog is Pumbaa. They've been my friends since I left."

Danny waved his hand in an abortive wave. "Nice to meet you guys. Thanks for keeping my little brother alive."

Pumbaa smiled. "Not a problem. Simba talked a lot about you."

Timon waved. "Hey, pal. Timon's the name…don't wear it out." He walked up to get a view of the Pride Lands. It wasn't anything to write home about. "Ugh, we're gonna fight your uncle…for this?" He waved his hand all over. He was not too impressed with the place.

Simba nodded. "Yes, Timon. This is my home."

Timon wasn't too enthusiastic at first. "Talk about your fixer-upper." He raised his voice. "Well, Simba. If it's important to you, we're with you to then end."

They all looked out towards the Pride Lands. It was a big task, but they were up to the challenge. Danny turned his bike around. "Come over here. I managed to rally Jabari and the new king Malka's prides to help us. They're waiting for us to discuss a battle plan."

Simba was relieved to hear the good news. "I'm glad you got them. This will make things much easier."

They walked over to where the army of lions waited. Immediately Tojo, Chumvi, Mheetu, and Tama went to greet Simba and Nala for the first time in ages. They laughed at the fact that Tojo still had the birds flying around him. When the meet-and-greet was done, they gathered around, with Danny and Simba in the center. Nala, Jabari, Malka, Tojo, Chumvi, Tama, and Mheetu gathered around them and the others huddled close to listen.

Danny devised the plan. "Simba, Nala, Timon, Pumbaa, and myself will head down by the rock pillars on the rightmost path. We'll figure out a plan ourselves from there. Malka?"

Malka's head came up. "Yeah?"

"You and your pride will come in on the left side. Wait until I give you the signal. There should be a dried up creek bed over there. Dig in and stay put until I give you the signal."

"What's the signal?" Malka asked.

"Hang on, I'll explain." Danny said, holding up his hand. "Jabari, you and your pride will head up the center. There's no cover for you so you have to get as close as you decide, and lay low for the signal. The signal is a flare that I will fire into the air."

"Flare?" The two kings asked.

Danny realized that he was talking to lions, and not humans. "It is a device to signal to allies from a distance their location. It's basically a big red light that will pop up into the air and fell back down. When you see the big red light, you will attack the main group of hyenas while we deal with the handful on Pride Rock. Simba and I will look for Scar and end this once and for all."

Jabari nodded. "Let's do it."

Malka smiled with eagerness. "That's scrap those hyenas."

Danny smiled. "Alright, from this point on, we are on our own. I would give something classy and inspirational, but just wouldn't be our style." The lions laughed. Danny brought his hand in front of the group. "Watch the back of your fellow lion, keep sharp, and we will win." Simba and the Pride Land cubs caught on and put their paws in first. Jabari and the others placed their paws in as well. Danny smiled. "I'm very proud of all of you, and I'm glad that I'm able to do battle with all of you. Victory on three. One, two, three!"

"Victory!" They brought their paws up and split off into their groups.

* * *

Simba, Nala, Danny, Timon and Pumbaa headed past the gorge to the rock pillars. They kept low to avoid being seen. It wouldn't do themselves any good to alert the hyenas to their presence. Danny slung his M4 over his back and instead carried his big gauge M1014 shotgun for close encounters. If numerous hyenas came at them, he would take out more of them with less shots.

Danny crept up to a log and waved the others forward. Nala came first, followed by Simba. Timon and Pumbaa came up in the rear. All of them peaked over the log. All over the field were hundreds of hyenas, each and every one of them ferocious and hungry. "That's a lot."

Timon gulped. "Hyenas. I hate hyenas." He didn't sound at all enthused on taking them on. He whispered into Simba's ear. "So what's your plan for getting past those guys?"

Simba smirked. "Live bait."

"Good idea." Then he realized what the lion was getting at. "Hey…"

"Come on, Timon. You and Pumbaa have gotta create a diversion."

Timon was ecstatic. "What do you want me to do? Dress in drag and do the hula?"

Not too long after, the hyenas jerked their heads up and behind them when some commotion started. Timon was dressed in drag and singing. "If you're looking for a hunk of fat and juicy meat…" The hyenas started drooling at the sight of Pumbaa and Timon. Danny, Simba, and Nala began sneaking around the pack of hyenas. Timon's expression of fear was clearly evident. "Are ya achin? For some bacon? He's a big pig. You can be the big pig too." Danny gave them the signal that they were clear. His timing couldn't have gone closer to the wire, for as soon as he signaled them, they took off with the hyenas close on their tails.

As they came near a pillar outcropping, they noticed that they couldn't just walk in through the front door. There were too many hyenas near the ingress slope. Simba looked at the two of them. "Nala, you find my mother and rally the lionesses. Danny and I will look for Scar." Nala split off from them and headed down to where the lionesses were supposed to be. Simba and Danny took off down the left side, using the rock pillars as cover from the eyes of the hyenas. Simba smirked. "Okay, what's the plan now?"

Danny pointed to the rear of Pride Rock. "I'll head to the back and climb my way up to my ship. I need that flare gun to signal Jabari and Malka. I also have a weapon that I haven't had reason to use until now. You take the slope that's just behind the hyenas' view and head up that slope. It connects with the slope heading up to my ship. Wait until I get down there and we'll head down to confront Scar."

"Sounds good. Danny, let's win this for all the lionesses."

Danny placed his hand on Simba's paw. "Let's win this for Mufasa." He could see Simba's determined expression falter. Danny thought he knew what the problem was. "Don't worry. I know he's smiling down on you."

"Yeah," was all Simba said.

Danny gave him a reassuring smile. "Everything will be fine. Time to go." Danny ran off around Pride Rock and began climbing. He didn't have any climbing gear, he would just have to rely on strength, balance, and sheer will. He just prayed that he wouldn't make a bad decision, because it would be a long fall. He could've gone the same path Simba took, but Danny didn't want to risk being seen before getting his equipment ready.

He climbed up and was getting close to the top. His feet had slipped a few times but he held on. But as he neared the top, the rocks he had his feet planted broke off. The sudden weight caused the rock with his left hand on it to break off. Adrenaline started pumping through Danny as his hands started sweating. This was a feeling he hated. When his life was on the line, his hands would start sweating. This would be a bad place for his hand to lose grip. Danny gritted his teeth. I didn't come this far to die falling from a cliff. He reached up with his left hand and grabbed a rock. His biceps strained to lift his entire body up, but Danny got high enough to plant his feet. He reached the top and looked up.

No hyenas were in sight, so Danny heaved himself over and ran to his ship. Opening up the ramp, he jumped on before it finished descending. He walked into the weapons storage. He took off his M4 and opened a huge safe with his pass code. Danny smiled. "Hey, there. Time to wake up, big girl." Inside the safe was an M60 heavy machine gun, an old weapon that dated back to the Vietnam War. Since it was retired, it didn't take much to acquire it. Now it was time to see if it could still pack a punch. Unlike the M4, which carried 5.56mm rounds, the M60 carried 7.62mm rounds, an older round that packed a much heavier punch. He grabbed two boxes in addition to the one loaded into it. He grabbed a flare gun, two flares, and two grenades.

Danny ran down out of the ship, at least as fast as a run with the M60 slung over his shoulder. He came down to where Simba was at. The lion was crouched low. He turned around when he heard Danny coming down. "You ready?"

"Yeah, let's go."

They both headed down the slope to the main platform of rock outside of the cave. Then Scar came out, clearly not happy. He reached the edge and raised his voice. "Sarabi!"

Danny and Simba stopped in their tracks as they looked out among the hyenas. They saw Sarabi approaching calmly, but it was clear that the last few days seemed to drain the life out of her expression. Danny figured it must've been the combination of believing Simba was dead and Danny being exiled and running away. Danny's expression was one of sadness and sympathy. She has to be hurting after what's happened. But at the same time, she's been so strong making it through these tough times.

She came up to where Scar was sitting at. "Yes, Scar?" Even her voice was deprived of emotion.

Scar began to pace back and forth. "Where is your hunting party? They're not doing their job."

Sarabi sighed. "Scar, there is no food. The herds have moved on."

Scar did not believe it. "No, they're just not looking hard enough."

"It's over, we have nothing left. We have only one choice: we must leave Pride Rock."

Scar glared. "We're not going anywhere."

Sarabi returned the glare with a defiant one of her own. "Then you have sentenced us to death."

"Then so be it." Scar sat stubbornly with his back turned to her.

Sarabi was shocked. "You can't do that."

"I am the king. I can do whatever I want to."

Sarabi was livid. "If you were half the king Mufasa was…"

She didn't even finish, as Scar backhanded her hard, sending her tumbling back to the slope where Danny and Simba were hiding. "I'm ten times the king Mufasa was." Thunder and lightning illuminated the slope, and Scar looked up. Terror shook him to the core as he saw Danny and Simba, full of rage of what Scar had just done. They ran down to Scar, who backed away. "Danny? Mufasa? No, you're dead."

Simba ran to his mother while Danny came behind him, watching Scar for any funny moves. Simba nudged Sarabi's head. She slowly opened her eyes. She thought she was seeing things. "Mufasa?"

Simba shook his head. "No, it's me."

Sarabi, her face deprived of life before, was now filled with it, and her smile said everything. "Simba? You're alive? How can that be?"

"It doesn't matter. I'm home." He nuzzled his mother. Sarabi, seeing Danny and Simba alive and well, made her finally feel full of life.

Scar heard this. "Simba?" He faked a pleasant voice, but he wasn't fooling anyone. "Simba, Danny, I'm a little surprised to see you…alive." He glared at the hyena trio. Ed, Shenzei, and Bonzai all gulped and retreated from sight.

Simba stared daggers at his uncle. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't rip you apart."

"And one good reason why I shouldn't turn you into a piece of Swiss cheese," Danny added in, pulling the M60's charging handle back. He and Simba both closed in on Scar, isolating him against the wall. Scar was nervous, and Danny caught it. "Starting to panic yet?"

Scar retreated as far as the wall would let him. "Oh, boys. You must understand…the pressures of ruling a kingdom…"

"…are no longer yours," Simba finished for him.

Danny aimed the machine gun at Scar. "Step down, Scar."

Scar laughed nervously. "Well, I would. Actually…however, there is one little problem. You see them?" Scar pointed up. The hyenas all looked down on them, grinning evilly. Scar pointed at himself. "They think I'm king."

"Well, we don't." Everyone turned to look at Nala. She was at the edge with the other lionesses. Two were helping up Sarabi. "Simba and Danny are the rightful leaders."

Simba turned back to face him. "The choice is yours Scar. Either step down or fight."

Danny narrowed his eyes. "And trust me, this isn't a fight you can win."

"Oh, must this all end in violence?" Scar said with a smile. Danny wondered what he was up to. "I'd hate to be responsible for the death of a family member, wouldn't you agree, Simba?"

Danny frowned. What's that supposed to mean? And why is it directed at Simba?

Simba gritted his teeth. "That's not going to work, Scar. I've put it behind me."

Danny was confused as Scar walked up to the lionesses. "Yes, but what about your faithful subjects? Have they put it behind them?"

Now it was Nala's turn to frown. "Simba, what is he talking about?"

Simba didn't answer, but Scar did. "Ah, so you haven't told them your little secret. Well, Simba, now is your chance to tell them. Tell them who is responsible for Mufasa's death."

They all looked at Simba, looking for an answer. Danny looked at Simba, afraid of what he was going to say. No, please. Don't say it, please. Danny's voice became raspy. "Simba?"

Simba kept his face stern, until it broke. "I am."

Danny shook his head. "This can't be true. I can't be." It didn't make sense. Simba was nowhere near Mufasa when he fell. Danny's heart felt like it was flat-lined. Nothing was alive except his thought processing.

Sarabi looked like her heart was ripped into pieces, as did Nala and the rest of the pride, who were shocked and hurt. Sarabi walked up to her son. "It's not true. Tell me it's not true." Her voice sent daggers through Simba's heart.

Simba hung his head. "It's true."

Scar's voice turned into anger. "You see? He admits it…murderer." His last word was followed by a clap of thunder.

Simba protested. "No, it was an accident."

Scar began to circle him. "If it weren't for you, Mufasa would still be alive. Do you deny it?"

Simba was downcast. "No."

"Then your guilty."

"No, I'm not a murderer," Simba said in defense.

Soon, the hyenas were behind Scar. Some of them surrounded Danny, keeping him close to the wall. Scar turned to face him. "I deal with you soon, traitor. You have crimes to pay for." Scar turned his attention to Simba. "Oh, look Simba. You're in trouble again." Scar and the hyenas were forcing him up to the edge of the arch. "But this time, daddy isn't here to save you. And now, everyone knows why." Simba slipped and almost fell off the edge.

Nala cried out. "Simba!"

Lightning struck the ground off in the distance. Danny saw it, and soon saw a familiar orange glow. Oh, no. That's fire, and it's spreading rapidly. It'll be all over the place in moments. I've got to act fast. He pulled out his flare gun and a grenade very slowly. He didn't want to startle the hyenas. "I'll bet you hyenas are very hungry. Not getting the food you need from the lionesses, right?"

The hyenas laughed in agreement. One spoke. "Yeah, that's right. And we're really hungry."

Danny showed them the grenade. "Well, here's some food for you. Do you want it?"

Immediately, they were slobbering. The hyena who spoke answered again. "Yeah, can we have it?"

Danny looked over to where Scar and Simba were at. Scar looked down at Simba. "Now, this looks familiar. Where have I seen this before? Hmm." He smiled. "Oh yes, I remember. This is just the way your father looked before he died." He suddenly grabbed Simba's paws with his claws unsheathed. "And here's my little secret."

Danny watched Scar whisper into Simba's ear. Simba's expression went from shock to confusion to pure rage. "NNNOOOO!!!!" With all of his might, he jumped up and tackled Scar. He pressed his paw up to Scar's throat. "Murderer!" All of the hyenas turned to face the two lions. Danny took the opportunity to load a flare into the flare gun.

Scar pleaded with Simba. "No, Simba. Please."

Simba's death glare could pierce even the hardest of souls. "Tell them the truth."

Scar chuckled nervously. "Truth? But, truth is in the eye of the behold…" He couldn't finish, as Simba pressed his paw against Scar's throat. He wasn't taking any of Scar's crap. "Alright…alright." He said something, and only Simba could have heard.

Simba growled. "So they can hear you."

Danny made his move. He pulled the pin and tossed the grenade up. "Catch your food!"

The hyenas jumped and fought for the grenade as Danny heard Scar say loudly, "I KILLED MUFASA." Danny's suspicions were confirmed as the grenade exploded.

The battle was on.


	16. Battle of Heroes Pt 2:Dawn of a New Day

Chapter 16-The Battle of Heroes, Pt. II: Dawn of a New Day

The explosion was deafening. Danny's ears popped. But that was nothing compared to the mind pop he was having. Scar _did _kill Mufasa. It had made sense to Danny, from the circumstances to the motive, but he had no hard evidence before. Now, he had the hardest evidence of all: admittance from Scar himself. Scar must've exiled Simba from the land, but from the sound in his voice at realizing it was Simba, he probably tried to kill Simba but failed. Danny was now a raging storm. Scar had taken away his second father and tried to kill the little brother he never had before. He got up and aimed his flare gun straight up and fired. The flare shot off and reached the peak of its arc and began to glow bright red. He tossed the gun down and brought up his M60. He shouted as the hyenas moved in on him. "Come and get some!" He fired his weapon.

* * *

Off in the distance, Malka was waiting with his pride. He was waiting anxiously for the signal. The fires were spreading rapidly, and soon it would reach his position in the creek bed. He grumbled. "Come on, guys. We're just spinning our wheels."

Lela, who initially objected but decided to come along, frowned at Malka. "What's 'spinning our wheels' mean?"

Malka chuckled. "Danny taught me that. It's a saying that means that we're just sitting around, not doing much."

"Oh," was all she said in response.

Malka shook his head. "What's going on up there?"

As if an answer to his words, a pop echoed in his ears. A bright red light illuminated the sky over Pride Rock. His eager expression brightened. "That's the signal!" He let out a roar to attack and his pride began charging at the main group of hyenas. Malka heard another roar off to his left and Jabari's pride began charging at full speed towards the hyenas.

The hyenas, who were about to head up Pride Rock, heard the roars and turned. They saw the two prides heading their way and realized quickly that they would have to deal with them or they wouldn't be around long. By the time they realized what to do, Malka and Jabari had slammed into them and began ripping through their lines with ease.

* * *

Danny saw the hyenas jump Simba. But that didn't last long, because Nala, Sarabi and the rest of the pride began ripping through them, giving Simba a chance to fight his way free. More hyenas were on their way down to take them from behind. Danny turned his weapon around and fired. The M60, despite its age, didn't show it as the 7.62mm rounds began mowing the hyenas down. Danny screamed. "Taste it, suckers!" He kept firing at them while he saw Timon and Pumbaa show up and began plowing through the hyenas like bowling pins. They split off and dealt with a group sizable for them to handle.

A hyena managed to get behind Danny and jumped on him. Danny felt searing pain through his shoulder as the hyena clamped its powerful jaws down. He screamed in agony but his anger and adrenaline kept him going. He pulled out his pistol and brought up in the hyena's face and fired. The shot blew through the animal's face, killing it instantly. It released it's grip and slumped to the ground. Danny turned around and fired just in time to take on the next group of hyenas.

He ran out of the first box and was well on his way to emptying the second. Danny would need to get rid of the M60 soon. With the bite wound in his shoulder, it became increasingly hard to carry the heavy weapon. He would downgrade to the shotgun and keep moving. As Danny ran out of the second box, he tried to load his last box. The human looked to his left and saw Simba fighting three hyenas.

He threw the one off of his back and killed the two hyenas in front of him with his claws. But Danny saw almost too late the hyena jumping from the rock above Simba. He landed on Simba and began attacking Simba's neck. Danny loaded the last box and took aim. But before he could center his sights, he saw a club land on the hyena's head, knocking him out. Danny and Simba looked up to see Rafiki. He followed them back to Pride Rock, but at a discreet distance. The mandrill let out a war cry and jumped down in between a group of hyenas. Next thing Danny saw was the last thing he expected: a martial arts demonstration from the old Rafiki on the hyenas, finishing with a blinding punch to a hyena.

Danny was impressed. "I wonder if he could teach me some of that." He saw another horde of hyenas coming foolishly at him. Danny smiled and aimed the M60. "Eat this!" He pulled the trigger and fired in short, concentrated bursts. Again, hyena after hyena fell to his fire, but as they got closer, Danny abandoned the burst approach and held the trigger down. The gun clicked empty and Danny immediately took it off. He had to bend down to avoid pain in his shoulder, but he got it off. The remaining hyenas charged him, and were met with the buttstock of the M60. Some hits were so hard that they cracked skulls.

Danny got some space and dumped the M60. A lioness was having trouble with three hyenas and they were forcing her to the edge of the arch. Danny ran to them and brought his big gauge shotgun from off his shoulder and up to aim. His first shot killed the hyena furthest from the lioness and wounded the second. The third turned to deal with Danny and tackled him to the ground before he could fire. He went with the tackle and kicked the hyena over the arch to the blazing fires below. Danny rolled off the edge. He grabbed a rock jutting out with his good hand.

He couldn't lift his body up this time, and his other arm wouldn't do much with his shoulder all torn up. "Help! Anybody? Help me!"

Danny screamed as his hand finally let go. But he never even fell. He looked up to see Sarabi grabbing his hand with her paw. He smiled, even though her claws had punctured his skin. "Sarabi, are you a sight for sore eyes."

"Glad to help, son." She pulled him up and helped him get to his feet. "Thanks for saving me with those hyenas. I guess after hearing that Scar killed my mate, I got in a little over my head."

"Don't worry, but I need to find Scar. Keep the hyenas at bay in the meantime." He ran to where Simba was. He was separating himself from the hyenas while the lionesses were dealing with them. From down below, Danny could see most of the hyenas were either dead or running away, hopefully for good. Danny knew Scar had to know this, and with his kingdom crumbling to the end, he would try to find the back door. Danny walked up to Simba. "How are you doing?"

Simba's attention was drawn to Danny's shoulder. "Yeah, I'm fine. You look terrible."

"I'm okay, do you see Scar?" Simba shook his head in response to Danny's question. They looked around for him. Danny noticed movement in the distance by the slope but wasn't sure who it was. He pointed in that direction and Simba followed the direction. Lightning flashed throughout the sky, and the figure was clear to see. "It's Scar, let's get him!"

Simba roared and they chased Scar. Scar ran up the slope with Danny and Simba hot on his tail. They closed in, but stopped dead in their tracks when four hyenas blocked their path. Eight hyenas cut off their escape. Simba looked at Danny. "What do you want to do?"

"I'm working on it, bro." Danny said. He couldn't take them all with his shotgun. He didn't have enough loaded and he wouldn't have time to reload.

Suddenly, a voice caught their attention. It was Timon and Pumbaa, who were up on a ridge higher than them. "Hey, Pumbaa. What do you call a hyena that has half a brain?"

Pumbaa chuckled. "Beats me, Timon. What?"

"Gifted. Ha ha!" Timon said with a laugh.

Danny cracked up a little at hearing this. He nudged Simba. "Let's go while they're busy with your buddies." Danny aimed the shotgun at the four hyenas in front of them. Two shots brought them down. They ran up to the summit of Pride Rock.

The fire had spread all the way to the top of the summit, and if it wasn't put out somehow, then this whole place would go up in flames. Scar was over on the other side of the summit, with a wall of fire in their way. The other hyenas ran up behind them. They were distracted until remembering they needed to stop Danny and Simba. The two decided to jump over the wall of fire and confronted Scar.

Scar saw them come through and was terrified. Simba's expression was icy. "Murderer."

Danny pointed a finger at Scar. "For three years, we've had endure a living hell under your reign. Now it's time for you to feel a living hell yourself."

Scar was shaking. "Simba, Danny, please. Please have mercy on me. I beg you."

"You don't deserve to live," Simba said, no emotion could be traced in his voice.

"You got that right." Danny's voice, however, was full of it.

Scar stammered for the right words. "But, boys…I…am…family." He was laughing nervously.

"Mufasa was family. We should we treat you any less than you did him?"

Scar was running out of options and excuses. Then his tone changed. "It's the hyenas who are the real enemy. It was their fault, their idea."

Danny turned around to see the hyenas were still there. The trio of the hyenas, Ed, Shenzei, and Bonzai, heard all of what Scar said. They growled and backed off. Now the hyenas were no longer siding with Scar. He was on his own.

"Why should we believe you? Everything you ever told me was a lie." Simba said, looking down at Scar who was now cowering low.

Danny came right up next to Simba. "Everything you ever caused me was pain."

Scar realized he was out of options. He gulped. "What are you going to do? You wouldn't kill your own uncle."

Simba's tone was low and cold. "No, Scar. I'm not like you."

"Besides, death would be too good for you, anyway," Danny added in.

Scar breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank you, boys. You both are truly noble. I'll make it up to you, I promise." He stood to face them. "Now, how can I prove myself to you. Tell me, tell me anything."

A smile slowly played out on Danny's lips. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Simba nodded, but did not smile. "Yeah, I thought the same thing." His eyes blazed. "Run. Run away Scar, and never return."

Danny pumped his shotgun. "As in for the rest of your life, Scar. I never want to see you again."

Scar clearly wasn't prepared to hear this, but he didn't have much choice in the matter. "Uh, yes. Of course." He slithered away from them, but they kept their watch on him. "As you wish…" He spotted some embers and flaming rocks. "…your majesties!" He hit the debris and sent in at them.

The debris flashed across Simba's eyes, blinding him temporarily. Danny, on the other hand, got some on his face and a good amount on his torn shoulder. The flames burned his flesh badly, and he screamed, dropping his shotgun. The cheap shot was more than enough for Scar to jump Simba and tackle him to the ground. He made constant attacks on Simba's neck, but his thick russet mane made that task very difficult. Simba punched Scar away from him and got up, diving at him.

The fight was intense, with both of them exchanging blows between each other while standing on their back paws. Danny was still recovering when he saw the duel of the two lions. He pulled out his knife. He didn't want to use his pistol or shotgun. The boy wanted Scar to feel the pain he had dealt out to this kingdom and his own pride. Danny saw his chance when Scar dealt Simba a devastating blow to the head, knocking him to the ground. Simba was dazed and disoriented from the blow.

Danny, all business, lunged at Scar. He landed on top of Scar, using his free hand to grip the lion's mane. Scar growled. "Get off of me, you piece of trash!"

Danny didn't bother responding, but just dug his knife into Scar's back. The lion let out a roar of pain, but Danny didn't stop. He plunged the knife into his shoulder over and over. Scar let out roars of agony each time, but just before Danny prepared to drive the knife into his head, Scar ducked down. Danny fell and rolled over. He got up to face a very angry Scar. Scar head butted him into a rock. Danny saw stars explode before his eyes as they fluttered shut.

Scar smiled. "Nothing personal."

What Scar didn't realize was that it bought enough time for Simba to recover. Simba jumped him. "Surprise!" They fought again, going for weaknesses that were blocked repeatedly. But Scar was just biding his time, baiting Simba into a trap. Hopefully, Simba would make his move.

As they were fighting, Danny slowly came to. He rolled over to see the two lions fighting to the bitter end. The human pulled out his pistol and flipped the safety off.

Scar found his opening when he let Simba made a clumsy swing at his face. Scar went with the blow but recovered and slammed his paw into Simba's face, knocking him over the wall of fire, near the edge of the summit. Scar smiled. "Give my regards to your father for me." He then charged for the other side in an attempt to land right on top of him and slice Simba's throat.

Danny aimed and smiled. "Nothing personal." He fired the pistol. The shot seemed to go in slow motion, but it hit Scar in his front leg just before he jumped.

Scar tried lost his balance but tried to compensate by over-jumping . Unfortunately, his forward momentum was still going at full force, and while he landed on top of Simba, it was a little too far forward. Simba brought his legs up and kicked Scar over him and the edge, sending him tumbling to the ground below.

Simba turned around and looked down. Danny, even though he had a pounding headache, jumped to the other side of the crackling fire and looked down to see. Scar's body lay unmoving for a few moments, but soon, Scar slowly rose from the ground. Danny couldn't believe it. _No way he survived that._

Danny saw the hyenas Ed, Shenzei, and Bonzai come close to Scar. They did not look pleased for obvious reasons. Scar smiled. "Ah, my friends."

Shenzei laughed. "Friends? I thought he said we were the enemy."

Bonzai smiled. "Yeah, that's what I heard." They looked at their third cohort. "Ed?"

Instead of laughing maniacally, his laugh was more subtle but no less evil. He started slobbering as the remaining hyenas began surrounding Scar. Scar started panicking. "No, l-l-let me explain. No, you don't understand. No, I didn't…no, no!" But his pleas were falling on deaf ears. The hyenas jumped on top of him and mauled him alive. The screams from Scar were heart-piercing, and both Danny and Simba turned away. They couldn't watch anymore.

Danny went over to pick up his weapons and strapped them back on. Then he realized something. The something that he had been waiting for the last three years.

Simba beat him to it as he looked up at him. "It's over. It's finally over."

Danny nodded as tears came to his eyes. "All these years, I've waited for this moment. Now, we've finally come through together and won. Now, we are finally at peace. All the hunger, thirst, weariness, and pain…can finally stop." He felt something wet hit his hand. "What the…?"

He looked up. For the first time in years, rain began to pour down on them. It felt so cool, refreshing, and relaxing. Maybe it was a sign of the beginning of the Pride Lands' rebuilding. Simba noticed it as well. "It looks like we have a lot of rebuilding to do."

Danny rested his hand on Simba's head. "And we'll do it together, as brothers and equal kings."

Simba smiled and turned around to the Pride Lands. The fires were going down fast, and he could see the last of the hyenas running away for good. "So much death and destruction. How could such a thing happen?"

Danny walked next to him. "I don't know, but I say we make a statement to stop it."

"Yeah."

Danny chuckled. "You do know I would've taken Scar by myself, right?"

Simba smiled. "Yeah, sure. It didn't look like that when you got sent into the rock."

"After saving your butt. Come to think of it, how many times do I have to save your tail?"

Simba smirked. "Well, in case you didn't notice, I actually saved yours."

Danny acted like nothing was wrong. "I wasn't in any danger. I was doing perfectly fine." They both laughed, something they could do while feeling at ease now that the nightmare was all but done. Suddenly, all of the emotions hit him after being pent up for so long. His face began going from laughter to absolute grief.

Simba noticed. "Danny are you okay?"

Danny nodded, but his red-rimmed eyes and shed tears contradicted his answer. "Yeah," Danny replied. He looked out among the lands as the rain began to douse the fires. "I'll never forgive myself."

Simba looked confused. "For what, Danny?"

Danny took a while in answering. He was trying to make sure he could get the words out. "That my family…that my family died and I didn't."

Simba was pretty sure Danny meant his blood family, but Danny was not just talking about them, but the lionesses and king they had lost over the years. He turned around to give his brother some time alone. Simba stopped and faced him. "Danny, I don't…" The pause made Danny turn his head around to look at him. "…I don't know how we're gonna tell this story."

Danny turned his entire body to Simba. The look on his face could pierce the heart of even the hardest of souls. "Well, we've got to, Simba. We need to bring back our people back to the lands. We need to tell them what the pride did here against the hyenas." His voice became raspy. "We need to tell them how our family died."

Simba began to shed some tears himself. "Yes, Danny. That will be the first thing to tell them." Simba's eyes were now red-rimmed as well. "Do you think the horrors of this night and the last three years ever go away?"

Sadly, Danny shook his head. "No." Danny wiped the tears from his face. "There was a saying my dad told me when I asked him what war was like. And he said to me, 'we who have seen war will never stop seeing it. In the silence of night, we will always hear the screams.' I now understand what he means."

He blinked some more tears out before wiping them. His eyes were stinging from the salt. "I'm never going to be able to forget these scarring memories, and I'm going to have sleep-deprived nights for the next few months, if not the rest of my life. That's one good thing you have: you won't have as many horrors to remember as I have."

Simba hung his head low. "But there will always be one that will effect me: the day my father died. It's haunted me for the last three years, and I doubt it will fade away anytime soon." He turned once again. "I'll leave you to yourself for a few moments."

Danny was shaking to keep from crying in front of his brother. "Thank you." As Simba left to the other side of the summit, Danny stood there alone. His hand slowly lost grip of his pistol. Falling to his knees, Danny broke down crying in choked sobs. All he wanted was for his family to be alive for this moment, and now at least five of them were gone; he still didn't know how many he lost from this night of war alone. But from this, he would build up to make sure there wouldn't be another time like this again.

Danny slowly got up and headed over to Simba. He turned to head down the slope. "Let's go. Everyone is probably waiting for us." They headed down the slope to the lions at the base of Pride Rock. Danny kept his arm stiff to avoid pain. It would require bandaging later.

They could see as they were reaching the base of Pride Rock that everyone was waiting there. The lionesses watched their new kings come down the slope to meet them. Zazu, who was freed by Timon and Pumbaa, bowed low as they passed. "Congratulations on your victory, your Majesties."

Simba nodded in respect while Danny just simply waved. Being a part of royalty was something he never expected to be, and it would take some getting used to.

Jabari and Malka came to Danny and bowed low to him, and he followed suit. They explained that the only casualties they had were a few wounds, but nothing serious. No lion's life was taken. The same couldn't be said for the scores of hyena bodies lying all over the place. Danny shrugged. _At least there's food for us._ He turned around to face the lionesses of his pride. They bowed low to him and Simba, and Tojo, Chumvi, Tama, and Mheetu also bowed.

Danny smiled to see this. He never in his life thought of an experience like this. From talking to lions to being a part of their family to being a king. Simba rubbed his head along his mother's, glad to be reunited with her again. He then went over to Nala and licked her, nuzzling her in loving affection. Danny smirked as he knew this was going to happen ever since they were cubs.

Danny came to Sarabi and gave her a big hug. She returned it by wrapping her paws around his neck. Through her ear, he whispered. "I couldn't have made it through without you."

Sarabi laughed lightly. "You may find this surprising, but you kept me going through all these years." She looked into his eyes. "When I lost my Mufasa and thought Simba was dead, you were still there keeping us going. You made me feel life was still worth living. Now both of you are here, and I couldn't be more proud of the two of you."

Something popped in Danny's head. "Has anyone seen Zira?"

Chinaka came forward. "I saw her leaving Pride Rock around the back end with Nuka as the attack began."

Danny gritted his teeth. She ran like a coward and took her cub with her. He set it aside. "We'll look for her later."

Zainabu, who was injured days earlier, came up to Danny. She jumped up on her hind legs and wrapped her front paws around his neck. "Danny, I never got to thank you for saving my life. I would've been dead if it weren't for you."

Danny wrapped his arms around her. "I'm always there for my family when lives are on the line."

Sarabi smiled as Danny let go of Zainabu. "And we will always be there for you. You are family after all."

Danny beamed at her. "I love you, mom."

"And I love you too, son." She rubbed her head under his chin, but a shaking caught their attention.

Rafiki was pointing to Simba and Danny, and then pointing up to the arch. This was supposed to be their walk to signify their official kingship. They both broke from the group and walked up to Rafiki. Rafiki bowed low to them, but Simba brought him into a hug. Rafiki, though surprised, returned it. Danny just extended his hand, and the mandrill shook it. He then put his hands on Danny and Simba's shoulders. "It is time, my kings."

Danny picked up his flare gun, because he was going to need something for a celebration. He also knew the king had to make a loud roar, and the flare gun would be the best option since he couldn't roar. Everyone watched as the two young males made their victorious walk. So many questions raced through Danny's mind, but they could be answered in time. He looked around the land. Bones were slowly washed away with the water, another sign of the old washed away, and the new coming in.

They reached the top of the arch. Both of them looked up to the sky. Even though it was still raining, the clouds parted. Before, back in the fields were he met back up with Simba, Danny thought he heard a familiar voice. This time, he did. "Remember…" Danny realized it was the voice of Mufasa.

He looked at Simba, who in turn, looked at him. Smiles slowly spread on their faces. Danny raised his flare gun and pulled the trigger. At the same time, Simba let out a huge roar. The flare illuminated the area in red while Simba's roar complimented the sight with sound. The lions below roared in subordination.

At last, after many years of turmoil, despair, and tyranny, they were finally victorious. What's more, they were finally free, now able to live in peace and harmony.

* * *

The morning came. Like the rain the night before, the sun finally came out for the first time in three years. All of the lions and lionesses, young and old, big and small, spent the night in the cave. They woke up, and Danny and Simba gave their goodbyes to Malka and Jabari for their service. Their prides went back to their respective homes. Tojo went back with Jabari to bring Kula back and Tama went to live with Malka. Afterwards, the pride went up the slope to head up to the summit of Pride Rock, in the wake of Danny. It was a day for remembering. Once they were all on the top, they came to give respect to the ones they lost. Danny had spent some of the night building six piles of rocks, with a headstone on each one; the six graves of five lions who had come to rest during their time of hardship. The others went first to pay their respects until Danny was the only one left. He needed some personal time to remember those he had lost.

Sarafina. The lioness who much resembled Sarabi in character and survived by her daughter Nala. She was an aunt to Danny and a sister to others. She was always kind, caring, and compassionate. She had also held the amazing trait of forgiving others, even to the most evil of beings. Sarafina had passed on after being fatally wounded by hyenas as punishment for Danny's actions.

Geena. A young lioness who was born under Mufasa's rule. One of the few younger generation females to be spared by Scar and the most promising huntress among the youngsters behind only Nala. She too was attacked and killed by hyenas, but she wasn't killed as punishment. Scar had given the order for the hyenas to dine on his own flesh and blood lionesses if the hunting party couldn't provide sufficient meals for the hyenas. They found her alone and attacked her, and it was too late for anyone to save her.

Takiyah. She had been the most blatant in her defiance of Scar and Zira. Takiyah had probably the second most conflicts with Zira aside from Sarabi. Takiyah, though stubborn, had a caring heart, though she'd be the last to admit it. She was killed by Scar for fighting with Zira and killing their first child before it was born.

Yihana. Even during the hard times, Yihana was the joker of the group. She and Danny would always be ribbing each other with jokes. Danny knew she had a crush on him, but that was as far as it went. Danny still remembered he was a human, and nothing more than a deep, loving friendship was the best option. She had starved during Scar's reign, despite Danny's efforts to get the pride food.

Maisha. She was the skeptic of the pride. Maisha never warmed up quickly to new ideas, but she never challenged the authority of those over her. She usually did most of her thinking on the inside; no one really would hear much from her unless she had something absolutely crucial to say. Like Yihana, Maisha died of starvation and thirst.

Mufasa. The leader of the pride before his brother Scar had murdered him to claim the throne. Danny had never met anyone so kind, so caring about life than Mufasa. As fierce as he could be and as intimidating as he looked, he always had a gentle and merciful heart to others. Danny looked to him as a second father despite only knowing him for two months. As nice as it was to be king, Danny would much rather have Mufasa reigning as king and Danny as one of the pride. He had died when Scar sent him to his death under the stampede of the wildebeests all those years ago.

Tears were streaming down Danny's eyes. After three years, he finally had the time to let his emotions loose and relieve himself of the stress and burden he had carried. "Hey, guys. I wish you were here to see that we won. Scar and the hyenas are gone and now we are free." He cried silently. "I'll make you proud, and I'll work real hard as king. Don't worry about me and Simba. We got plans."

He walked by each grave. He started with Geena. "Geena, I'm so sorry this had to happen for you. To live most of your life during Scar's reign and die in it. If I had someone with you, maybe you would just be injured and Rafiki would be able to treat you. I know you're up there, watching down on us. If only we were still under Mufasa, I would be playing with you and roughhousing you…" He let a few sobs out as he finished. "I will miss you."

He came to Maisha's grave. "I know you weren't the greatest to agree on new ideas, but you will be missed. I just hope that you will never experience pain again."

Danny raked a hand over his short hair. He stood in front of the stone with Takiyah's name on it. "Takiyah, you were always so blunt and stubborn, but you were always very brave and caring. I know you probably think differently now, given the place you're in, but I'll never stopped beating myself for leaving my pistol behind that day we hunted the rhino. Rest in peace, Takiyah."

His hand brushed over the stone of Yihana. "Hey, joker. Boy, I wish you were here now. I miss your teasing and jokes, I miss turning the jokes on you. Even though you were a lioness, I had always shared a special place in my heart for you, but I never said it. I just wish I could have you appear before me so I could say it to you. Goodbye, Yihana. I love you and hope you are doing well. I'll be sure to pass on the joker title to someone else."

Danny knew he would have to face the graves of the two lost lions that he considered so close to him: Sarafina and Mufasa. Tears fell freely from his eyes, but he wiped them away. He started with Sarafina. "The closest person I had to an aunt…that was you, Sarafina. I know I hadn't even known you for a year, but you were always asking me how I was doing, what you could do for me. I never can fully express how much I appreciated that. I only wish I could repay it." He smiled. "I guess I'll have to repay it to your daughter. I promise you, I'll watch over her for you."

He then walked back to the grave in the middle: Mufasa's. Danny got down on one knee. "Amazing how things turn out, Mufasa. You were my second father that was caring and full of life. You were wise and discerning as a king, but evil triumphed for that day. Now, you are avenged for the wrong committed against you. I can never be the king you were, but I will do everything in my power to make sure that I'm not that far off."

The man and co-king of the Pride Lands stood and looked at all of the graves. "You guys helped me get through so much. I lost my entire life and you welcomed me in. You gave me another life, and just when things were at their worst, I felt sure that we'd make it somehow, and we did. God finally woke me from the nightmare, and not just me but everyone else." He placed a picture of each of them on their headstones, gluing them on. He turned around to head to his ship, but not without saying, "I love you, and miss you."

Danny went inside his ship and grabbed his tape recorder. He had placed it in there the night before when he was grabbing different weapons. He took it and instead of sitting in his cockpit, he opened a hatch and climbed to sit on top of the ship, getting a good view of the Pride Lands. He started recording. "Hey, Dad. You won't believe what's been going on in my life. The stories I could tell from the last few years could last for the next few generations. I've gone from outsider to member to king of a species that I am not. How many people do you think would tell me I need psychiatric help? Eh, too many to mention." He laughed.

"Well, we've defeated Scar, the hyenas have ran off, and now we have to rebuild a land that was almost destroyed. It's going to take a while, but we'll make it. We're still trying to find a couple of people. We don't know where Zira and her cub Nuka went, but we'll find them. I told you in previous recordings about Dasyu. He's dead, but I always get the feeling he's still out there, especially after finding out he was a robot. Now, I have a chance to find some people and see if I can gather supplies. I'm not sure how long I'm going to stay out here. I may stay for the rest of my life, I may only stay until this kingdom is back on its feet and then go look for you and the rest of the family."

Danny looked out at the Pride Lands as he hopped off the ship and walked down the slope. "Remember the day before you, mom, and the girls left for the safari trip? Remember when you said I was going to do something special and be my own kind of hero and someone else's hero? Well…I don't think I'm ever coming home unless I find you, so I can't watch football with you. I doubt I'm ever gonna have kids, so I won't get a chance to be a hero to them, but I think I know what you meant."

Danny began thinking about the pride. His friends, his family; the only family he had out here in Africa. Danny chuckled. "There's strange life here, dad. It's different…but it's my own." The man walked down and looked into the cave. The entire pride sat inside. They were chatting and laughing amongst each other.

He thought about each individual pride member. He knew they were outside the cave eating some prey they caught, chatting amongst each other. "I have people who rely on me. People, who I care about, people who mystify me, people who have become my allies…my friends." He thought of Sarabi. "There are ones that have taught me patience and…" He thought of Simba, Tojo, Malka, and the other cubs that have now grown into lions. Even Timon and Pumbaa came to mind. "…other things."

Danny remembered words his dad told him that, thus far, had had a huge effect on him. He walked up the arch of Pride Rock. He reached the top and grabbed his pistol, examining the weapon. His sidearm had seen a lot of action, as evidenced by the dull shine on the outside. "Well, you said my time would come and I think my time has come, Dad. I've got a job to do," Danny said, loading the pistol and holstered it. "And I am unafraid. That's what you said when your unit was sent to the frontlines in the war not too far back."

Danny pulled something out of his pocket. It was a set of military dog tags. It belonged to his dad before he gave it to Danny the day before Danny's family went on the safari. He smiled as he put them on. "You did good, dad. You taught me well. And now it's my chance to apply what you've taught me to this world." He placed his thumb over the "stop" button. "This is Danny Manning, co-king of the Pride Lands…somewhere in God's universe."

* * *

**Well, this is my very first story. For acknowledgements, I want to thank the Lord for this wonderful talent he has given me. I want to thank my family for being supportive for me even when things were down. This is my very first story, so I hope everyone likes it. I know it wasn't the sharpest, but I think it was pretty solid.**

**For those of you sending me reviews, I greatly appreciate compliments. But I if you do have any constructive criticism you would like to give, I welcome it. I want to know where I could improve on my writing and storylines. If you're just going to flame me, don't bother sending anything. Thank you, very much.**

**Also, if you have questions regarding what happens to some characters, like Dasyu and other minor characters, they probably will be seen again. As the books progress, some will go from minor to major characters.**

**Thank you all and I hope you enjoyed it!! **

**P.S. Please keep sending reviews!! I would like to know how it is from you.**


	17. Bloopers!

**Okay, I do not own the Lion King, Beast Wars, and any others. Probably too much to mention. Alright, this was made out of sheer boredom and desire for a change of pace. These are fan fiction bloopers. Just pretend it's a movie, okay? It might actually be funny to some people. Enjoy!**

_**Danny goes after Nala and Simba to the waterhole. Scar stops him before leaving.**_

Danny was met halfway down by someone he didn't want to see: Scar. Scar wasn't showing any anger, but on the flip side, he wasn't looking very cheerful either. "Well, my prince. I heard you managed to take on six hyenas, including Ravage. Congratulations."

Danny kept his face neutral, but his brow creased. "Thanks. How did you hear about that?"

Scar chuckled. "In case you haven't noticed, it's been the talk of the entire pride. Ravage has been a nuisance for a long time. To hear that you killed him takes…great skill." He said with emphatic drama to sound serious.

Danny broke down laughing. The director brought his megaphone up. "Cut."

Danny laughed while Scar threw a fit. "Are you freaking serious now?" The lion looked at the camera. "I'm doing some of the best freakin' acting the world has ever freakin' seen. I'm talking _so_ real and _he _laughs in the middle of it?" He leaned in close. "Bloody Americans."

****

_**Mufasa and Simba on top of Pride Rock, during Simba's kingship lesson.**_

Mufasa and Simba watched the sun come up. The sight was magnificent, and it gave a great view of the lands. Both lions kept their eyes out among the lands. "Look, Simba. Everything the light touches, is our kingdom."

Suddenly, Danny began dancing around like an amateur ballet dancer, twirling in front of them. He jumped back and forth before leaving the view of the camera. Mufasa kept his face and tone serious. "Except for that."

Everyone started laughing. Except the director. "Cut."

Danny was on the ground laughing, and Simba was trying to breath but the laughing made that difficult. Mufasa couldn't help but laugh, but not without some seriousness. "_What are you doing?_ You're not in this scene. You're supposed to be planting cameras, remember? I'm giving my son a lesson and you jump in the middle of it."

The man was trying to catch his breath. "I'm sorry. That was just too good to pass up." Everyone laughed at the whole ordeal.

****

_**Scar and Danny arguing over the issue of killing the cubs. The night of Scar's assumption to the throne.**_

Danny was past livid, he was possessed with anger. "Scar, are you crazy? Those cubs don't deserve death."

Scar remained neutral. "Well, I don't feel I need to waste my time training cubs that are not my own."

Danny protested. "But this is ludicrous!"

Scar was growing angry. "Quiet, boy. If I-" Danny started cracking up. That was just a match to gasoline, as everyone began laughing. Scar just stood there. "The moment of emotion and he breaks down laughing…again."

"I couldn't keep a straight face. Just yelling at a lion is funny because it shouldn't be happening." Danny waved around. "By the way, who uses the word 'ludicrous' nowadays?"

_Take Two…_

Danny was past livid, he was possessed with anger. "Scar, are you crazy? Those cubs didn't do anything to deserve death."

Scar remained neutral. "Well, I don't feel I need to waste my time training cubs that are not my own."

Danny protested. "But this is ludicrous!"

Scar was growing angry. "Quiet, boy. If I didn't see any value in you before, I'd have you slaughtered with the rest of them."

Danny was silent. For a long time, he didn't blink. Finally, he spoke, keeping his angry tone very high. "I've really forgotten what I have to say…" He pointed a finger at Scar. "But I'm sure, given how much I'm yelling, it's really important."

Everyone started laughing again. The director yelled cut and they began setting up again.

****

_**Sarabi and others hear the gunshots from Danny's weapons as Ravage and the hyenas attack.**_

Sarabi turned to the hunting party. "Sarafina, Zainabu, Kamaria, you're with me. Zira, take the rest of the hunting party back with the wildebeest. Danny is in trouble and he may need our help."

As they walked off, Zainabu said. "Why does he need our help? With his weapons, he can take them all down."

Sarafina shook her head. "Yes, he does. He may have been surprised."

"No, he doesn't."

"Yes, he does."

"No, he doesn't."

The camera focused on Zira. She was just watching the two lionesses argue back and forth, staring endlessly. Finally, she turned to face the camera. "Twelve million pixels per frame." She waved her paw in the form of a rainbow. "The full range of emotion on a camera, and I give you this." She just stared impassively before shaking her head and walking off the set, drawing some laughs from the staff.

****

_**Danny is battling Ravage and the hyenas.**_

Danny fired his pistol. The shot hit the hyena square in the head, killing it instantly. The others saw this and hesitated. It was enough for Danny to take two shots at the hyenas behind him. One took the shot in the stomach while the other took it in the neck. Just before the fourth hyena was about to jump him, a loud beeping noise caused him to stop.

Everyone stopped as the beeping continued. Danny began to blush and smile. "That…would be my cell phone going off in take. The perfect weapon to scare off animals." Everyone laughed as he opened it up and began speaking. "Yes? Uh, mom…you realize I'm in the middle of a film scene? Yes, I'm in the fight of my life here and you call to ask me if I want some brownies?" Everyone burst out laughing. Danny looked around. "Does anyone want some brownies?"

The hyena that took the shot in the stomach raised his paw. "I'll take some. Since you shot my stomach, I need something to fill it up."

Danny laughed. "Okay, send the brownies and wait for me to call you later." He hung up the phone. "I'm sorry for that. I'll put in vibrate. Let's do this again."

****

_**Scar, Simba, and Danny in the final battle up on the summit.**_

Danny fell and rolled over. He got up to face a very angry Scar. Scar head butted him into a rock. Danny hit the rock and groaned. Scar hesitated to say his next line. "Are you alright?"

Danny was clutching his head. "You're not supposed to actually send me into the rock. Ow, geez. That freakin' hurt."

"Sorry," was all Scar said as the staff came to help Danny.

****

_**Simba and Danny are heading down Pride Rock after defeating Scar. Right before their coronation as kings.**_

Simba and Danny began heading down the slope of Pride Rock. The pride saw them come down and began to bow. The rain made the rocks slick, and Simba ended up slipping down the remainder of the slope. He landed on the ground behind a rock.

Danny headed down quickly to see if he was alright. The other pride members got up and slowly moved to Simba. Zazu flew over where Simba landed. "Simba, are you okay?"

All Simba could manage, was a loud and painful, "OW!"

****

_**Timon and Pumbaa doing their hula dance to distract the hyenas.**_

The hyenas jerked their heads up and looked behind them to see what the commotion was. Pumbaa, was sitting on a platter. An apple was in his mouth, and salad was laid out all around him. Timon was dressed in drag and dancing. "Loo-au! If you're lookin' for a hunk of fat and juicy meat…" He jumped on top of Pumbaa. As he did, the drag fell down and he tripped over the drag. He fell down next to Pumbaa. Timon shook his head. "Another wardrobe function to add to Disney's bloopers. This is just great."

Everyone laughed as two helped Timon up from the mess.

****

_**An off-the-set conversation with the hyena trio before a scene.**_

Shenzei, Bonzai, and Ed were waiting for their part into the scene. They were on the side chatting with each other. Shenzei looked at the other two. "So did you end up with the gig, Bonzai?"

Bonzai nodded. "Yeah, I'm supposed to be getting set for a commercial for an SUV. The subtitle for the vehicle is 'Not a tame estate' or something like that."

Ed, who normally didn't do any talking, agreed. "It needs a little variation to it, I think."

Shenzei sipped some of her pina colada. "Speaking of variations, what is the title of this movie?"

Bonzai answered. "I think it's called 'Lion King Infinites: Into the Pride'. They added Infinites because it's the same story with a twist to it."

"That makes sense," Ed replied. "Which reminds me of something. Timon and Pumbaa have their own TV show. Maybe we should start our own. Ones that center on us."

Shenzei nearly jumped out of her seat. "That's great. Maybe we can swing some deals to make it happen. The 'Hyena Trio Show'."

The director called them. "Hyena Trio, you're up."

****

_**Off-the-set. Danny walks around the animals, acting like he's on a wild animals TV show.**_

Danny walked around. A cameraman followed him. They both stopped in front of the hyenas. Danny turned around to face the camera. "Good day, mates. I'm Danny Manning in the wild and dangerous Pride Lands of Africa." He spoke with an Australian accent to add to the humor. "This is a place filled with many creatures, including some of the more dangerous ones."

He turned to give the camera a view on the hyenas. "These are hyenas, very vicious little buggers. If you're thinking this could be your house pet, think again."

He grabbed Shenzei, who had no idea what was going on. "Uh, what are you doing, Danny?"

He placed his hands on her mouth. "Chrikie! Look at the size of those teeth. I tell you what, folks. Hyenas have arguably the most powerful teeth in the world. If it gets their jaws on your arm, you haven't got a prayer. These hyenas are known to break bones, so tread softly if you encounter one. Some pepper spray always is useful to have on hand."

Danny released Shenzei and moved one. He found the pride all sitting together. "Oy! Take a look over there, mate. It's a whole pride of lions, the king of the jungle." He crept closer to them. "These ferocious animals earned the title because of how they can coordinate and dominate a land." He came up to Mufasa. "This is the male lion. These guys are recognized by their mane, and are the only members of the big cat family to have them. Male lions defend their pride from-"

Mufasa slapped Danny on the back with his paw, the force enough to knock Danny to the ground, laughing. "What the devil are you doing?"

Danny continued while trying to contain his laughter. "Did you see that, folks? They…their paws and limbs are so powerful that they can knock you off your feet." He stopped using the Aussie accent and turned to Mufasa. "I was just havin' a little fun and you knock me off my feet?"

****

_**Simba and Danny after reuniting from the three years of hardship.**_

Simba frowned. "Why don't you just gather the cubs from our pride? I think we can take them on."

"You haven't been there in years. Scar has a lot of hyenas in…" Danny jerked his head down. "Crap, I forgot what I was supposed to say."

_Take Two_

Simba frowned. "Why don't you just gather the cubs from our pride? I think we can take them on."

"You haven't been in there in three hyenas…" Danny smacked his forehead. "Come on." He and Simba started laughing. "In three hyenas, what kinda timetable is that?"

_Take Three_

Simba frowned. "Why don't you just gather the cubs from our pride? I think we can hyenas…"

They started laughing. Danny looked at the director and pointed to Simba. "That wasn't me this time."

Simba pointed a paw at himself. "That was me. I'm so sorry. Let's try that again."

_Take Four_

Simba frowned. "Why don't you just gather the cubs from our pride? I think we can take them on."

"Tra…" Danny started laughing hysterically, and Simba chuckled himself, but was more confused with why he was laughing. Danny finally lowered the hysterical laughter. "I was gonna say tray table."

They laughed. Simba said, "A tray table? Anyone want any tea?"

Danny looked at the camera. "Okay, I screwed up. Whatever."

_Take Five_

Simba frowned. "Why don't you just gather the cubs from our pride? I think we can take them on."

A loud, droning noise caught their attention. Danny frowned. "Is that a plane?"

****

_**Simba and Danny running away from the herd of wildebeests in the gorge.**_

Danny tossed the flashbang grenade behind them in hopes of stalling the herd. It did. The wildebeests at the forefront were blinded by the grenade and slowed down. Danny and Simba rounded the corner. Simba looked at his older brother. "What do we do?"

Danny tried to catch his breath. First, we find an exit. Then we go uuuUUPPP!!!" He tripped over a tripwire going all the way across the gorge.

The director pulled up his megaphone. "Cut."

Danny was a mixture of hysteria and anger. "What? Who put that there?" He realized someone was playing a prank on him, and the Hyena Trio came to mind. "Why do they that? Forget this. Who designed this freaking scene?"

Simba laughed. "Have a nice trip. I'll see you next fall." The other staff members laughed.

Danny glared at him. "Shut up. Go back to Home Improvement." The laughter turned into hysterical laughter. (If you know who played Simba as a cub, you'll find this funny.)

**THE END**


End file.
